


Rosemary & Eucalyptus

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, College AU, Connecticut - Freeform, Drugs, F/M, Greek Life, M/M, Monsters au, No Volleyball, Not All Characters Are Listed, Some Happy Endings, Weekly Updates, all lowercase except names, c’mon guys this is college, no beta we die like men, some bad endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25860205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: in a world where creatures of all different folkstories are forced to live in a human society, they need an environment where they can be themselves.  introducing the mythical college of connecticut, just outside of hartford.  here, students of six different classes of creature roam and mix together to form cross-class relationships.  the peaceful environment of the college soon falls into chaos when a ground-shaking catastrophe.  a group of creatures with warring pasts will have to work together to figure out who the real criminal is.  heartbreak, betrayal, and friendship will come out of this; beware, it’s not rainbows and puppies for long.  for satan’s sake, we have vampire bats, not butterflies!
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Sakusa Kyoomi, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Sugawara Koushi, Kyoutani Kentarou/Terushima Yuuji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

today was september fifth, twenty-nineteen. right off into the new school year, drama was already stirring on the campus of the mythical university of connecticut. 

“are we going to have a problem here?”

“i don’t know, are we?”

locked in a staring contest, two men stood facing each other in confident poses. around them in the open, medium-sized courtyard, students were looking up from their lunches, phones, and books. interested, some even began to walk over to where the two men stood facing each other. 

the taller of the two men flashes his cheshire cat grin, absolutely loving the new attention he was receiving. “only if you want to, Bokuto. i was just walking to my friends, you’re the one who tried to trip me.” behind him stood two identical men, the only difference being their hair color. they looked particularly out of the situation, scrolling on their phones or staring at the other group with a bored expression. one of them had a half-eaten apple in his hands, deep bite marks ridden over it. 

Bokuto laughs obnoxiously, large canines glinting with saliva flash in the open sunshine as he opens his mouth. behind Bokuto was two equally bored men, both ravenets. one was much taller than the other, the taller one wearing a face mask. “i didn’t even realize i tried to, Kuroo. force of habit,” he smirks at Kuroo, who grits his teeth. sharp yet shorter fangs than Bokuto’s show as Kuroo scowls. 

Kuroo cracks his knuckles loudly, shrugging his school duffel bag off of his shoulders. it drops onto the stone pathway with a thud, and Osamu looks up from his phone. “the dean’s office is right there, Kuroo,” he huffs, running a hand through his hair. he didn’t really care for the dean and his useless threats; he just didn’t want to be bored to death in detention again. 

Bokuto rolls his neck around, his fingers itching to move. his sharp fingernails began to elongate and a small growl was coming from the back of Bokuto’s neck. his companions didn’t even try to reason with their friend; they just watched with disappointment. 

Kuroo had ignored Osamu, shifting his weight onto his left leg. his grin hadn’t disappeared as he watches Bokuto with icy eyes. Bokuto tells himself not to shiver under it, instead meeting the gaze head on. 

“having a good day so far, Kuroo?” Bokuto tries to please the other with procrastination. he’d rather not fight now. he only had three more classes before he was free for the weekend. Kuroo takes the bait, resting a hand of his hip like a pregnant woman. 

“yeah, i am. great day. speculator. it’s a pity you had to show up and ruin its mood, though,” Kuroo drawls out. Atsumu chuckles behind him, but a quick slap to his shoulder from Osamu shuts him up. Osamu juts his chin out towards Bokuto, who was beginning to bristle. 

“Bokuto, it’s not worth it,” one of his accomplices grumbles, a growl lining his own voice. Bokuto calms down only a fraction, still meeting Kuroo’s taunting gaze stubbornly. Sakusa shakes his head as he was ignored, hunching his shoulders inward as he tried to disappear from sight as a crowd began to gather. Akaashi sighs disappointedly from in front of Sakusa, offering his friend a sympathetic gaze. 

“your little puppies don’t like when you get rowdy, Bokuto,” Kuroo teases, glancing at the two ravenets. Sakusa doesn’t meet his gaze, but Akaashi met it coolly. Kuroo’s shoulders shake with silent laughter before turning back to an increasingly-pissy Bokuto. 

Osamu raises a palm up to Akaashi and Sakusa as an apology. they, well, not Atsumu, were all just bored cronies in this situation. Akaashi nods ever so slightly, but Sakusa doesn’t show any physical acknowledgement. 

the small crowd has been gathering around them had begun to shout noisily by now, names and cheers and boos. two particular names were being chanted the loudest. 

“al-pha two chi! al-pha two chi!”

“vam pi! vam pi! let’s go, vam pi!”

Bokuto took the cheering in stride. hiding his boiling over aggression, he raises a fist up as his attention was torn from Kuroo. shaking it to the beat of one of the chants, he flashes his prideful, cover-up smile to the crowd. Kuroo was already approaching him, ready to pop the powderkeg that was named Koutarou Bokuto. 

Kuroo’s jaw was lowered, revealing inch-long fangs. his hands were thrown out and his fingers curled inward at his sides. his finger nails looked like scissor blades, his harsh gaze burying sharp daggers into Bokuto’s face. as he began to circle around Bokuto, the two Miyas watch from where Kuroo once stood. Akaashi and Sakusa did the same with Bokuto, who was now moving too.

Bokuto looks back at Kuroo after the crowd’s cheering rose to an ear-deafening volume from his compelling. Bokuto only grins at the approaching beast, an ironic term to use as hair sprouted from under Bokuto’s fraternity jacket. his nose grew longer and stouter as his teeth sharpened. his hands were making popping noises as they stretched out and convulsed, and his shoes were left behind as his feet grew larger and more deformed. the process was horrible, gruesome even, to bare witness to. nobody watching even flinched. 

“come at me, bitch,” Kuroo growls, his eyes slits. that was the trigger for Bokuto. the lycan lunged at the vampire, his teeth bared with his claws outstretched. a rattling sound caught bokuto off guard though, as two words flashed through his single-track mind.

oh no. 

grabbed roughly from behind, Bokuto whimpered cowardly as he was lifted up from the ground. Kuroo was pulled back from behind too, but by Osamu, and swiftly disappeared into the crowd. Atsumu ran after the two retreating vampires with Kuroo’s bag over his shoulder, but they had still escaped the escalated situation. Bokuto was caught redhanded. 

a nose sniffs close to Bokuto’s ear, twitching, who hadn’t yet morphed back. the crowd was dispersing, but straggling students moved out of the way for an approaching figure. the rattling noise drew closer. Bokuto struggles against his captor, but he grows limp in the grip when he makes eye contact with the old man in front of him. all he does is shrug and smile innocently. 

Washijou scowls at the useless lycan, who couldn’t do anything without being in the ground. “Ushijima,” Washijou calls curtly, and Bokuto is dropped onto the grass. looking up at the dean of students, Bokuto begins to morph back to his human self. a trickle of blood trails down from his nose, and his tongue darts out to lick at it when it reaches his upper lip. he rocked on his rear into a kneeling position. his captor’s tail whips dangerously close, causing Bokuto to jump up and face washijou at his full height. 

“my officccce. now,” Washijou spits through his snake lisp. a forked tongue flicks through his teeth; Bokuto represses a cringe at the sight. when he didn’t move, Washijou’s lips tugs upward into another scowl. “i ssssaid, now,” Washijou growls more forcefully before turning away. his long, brown-gray colored and scaled tail slithers after the upper body of a slouching old man, the rattle on the end of it shaking with warning. 

Bokuto halts, sighing as his shoulders cave inward. a push from behind almost trips him, ironically enough. “you heard Washijou, Bokuto,” the man behind him, his former and repetitive captor, huffs. Ushijima looks at the lycan from under long lashes. his wings were tucked neatly behind his back, but his swishing tail gave away his own anger to be in this situation. he had one forepaw forward, in the direction Washijou went in. 

Bokuto wrinkles his bloody nose at the griffin, but he sneaks a gaze over his shoulder. his two companions had stayed behind, but Sakusa’s glare sent him following after Washijou. Sakusa places a tentative hand on Akaashi’s shoulder once Bokuto looks away, an action Bokuto couldn’t see and would’ve probably gone ballistic if he saw did. Akaashi looks up, raising an eyebrow at the other in question and in mild surprise at the touch. 

“Bokuto is going to be late to lunch again,” Sakusa mumbles from behind his white face mask, gently pushing Akaashi forward. Akaashi simply nods, over the initial shock of the touch. 

Ushijima furrows his eyebrows after Bokuto’s retreating image, but he waits until the lycan turns the corner to take his own leave. turning away from the courtyard’s center, his large, dark wings unravel and stretch out to its full wingspan. they flap once, twice, thrice. Ushijima’s four paws soon leave the ground, and his large, bulky figure flies out of the courtyard just as silently as he had arrived. 

when the period bell rang obnoxiously only seconds after, the courtyard was almost as empty as it was full just a few minutes ago. 

•••

“that was close, Kuroo.”

“but i didn’t get caught.”

“it was still close.”

“didn’t get caught.”

Osamu rolls his eyes at Kuroo, but he couldn’t stay upset at his friend. pulling Atsumu by the arm of his fraternity jacket, Osamu was walking next to Kuroo as they hurried towards their next class. they were already late, but thankfully, their herbology teacher was rather lenient. it was one of the few classes that upperclassmen in both grades took together. as long as the students showed up, the professor didn’t care much.

“did he really trip ya, though?” Osamu asks with his thick mix of a spanish-new york accent, meaning he as Bokuto. Kuroo laughs from his gut, his hyena laugh causing Osamu to glare at the vampire. Kuroo nods his head after a second before shrugging the glare off right after it. 

“his legs were already out. i just wanted to get Bokuto in trouble, since he left the scene last thursday before Washijou came,” Kuroo snickers, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Osamu shakes his head disapprovingly, but didn’t voice it. Atsumu, on the other hand, jumped in. 

“an eye for an eye, y’know?” Atsumu chuckles in a similar accent to Osamu’s. Kuroo turns around to walk backwards, flashing a finger gun and a wink at the blond man. Atsumu smirks right back, shoving his phone in his pocket. he unlatches himself from his twin, walking on the other side of Kuroo. 

“how long do ya think he’ll get with ol’ Washihoe?” Atsumu asks, glancing at his two companions. Osamu shrugs, looking ahead of him to look for the herbology door. Kuroo tilts his head from side to side like a dog a few moments before grinning.

“two hours after school. he morphed almost entirely today! i’m good at bluffing, but a lone vampire verse a lycan is kind of an unfair fight!”

“bet, and i would’ve had your back,” Atsumu grins right back. their friendship still confused a lot of people as the two of them typically got under each other’s skin, but it was their fraternity that bonded them together since their first year at university. 

after all, they all bore the VAMΠ proudly on the backs of their blood red and black jackets. 

vampi.

•••

Ushijima perches on one of the many outcroppings that decorated the walls of a turret. his two best friends sat on each side of him, on their own ledges. both looked tired, but in the life of a griffin, everything was tiring. 

“did you see Kuroo?” the smallest of their trio asks nonchalantly, picking at a tuff of tail hair. as griffins, they all had the upper body of people, yet the lower body of a lion. their wings of eagle kind folded against their flanks, stemming from their lion backs. it was surprising that the wings, despite their wingspans, supported the heavy griffins, but it worked out. 

Yaku was on the smaller side of griffin kind, with a small body and a wingspan of thirteen feet. his wings were a warm brown-gray while his lower half was covered with similarly colored fur. his hair matched the tones perfectly. he was a lucky one; most griffins had varying color palettes. his two best friends were a part of the unlucky bunch. 

“yes, he was there. he was gone by the time i apprehended Bokuto, though,” Ushijima’s deep voice responds. Yaku hums disapprovingly, but he lets Ushijima continue speaking. “i’m aware the vampires are having a frat party tonight. he most probably did not want to deal with a detention interfering with that.”

Ushijima’s enormous, dark chocolate wings didn’t match with his golden fur, but he pulled off the look nonetheless. his wingspan was a giant twenty-one feet. his brown hair matched his wings beautifully, and was already known of his impressive looks. while he was a perfect example of the impressively large and strong griffins of old times, in standards for the griffins at their school that usually kept to their own kind, he was also a very common presence on campus, keeping everyone in check; especially the lycanthropes and the vampires. 

“if we could be expelled, something tells me most of the vampi and the alpha two chi would be out by now,” their third companion muses with a chuckle. Sawamura was filing his talons on his four paws, blowing at the nail dust that came off. “i feel bad for Washijou, dealing with those two fuckers every single day.” Yaku laughs at Sawamura’s remark, and even Ushijima shakes his head in amusement. 

Sawamura was a size between Yaku and Ushijima. his warm brown wings contrasted his light blond lion fur, something that Yaku was absolutely jealous of. Sawamura’s dark hair matched up well with his wings, so not all hope was lost for a considerably matching look. his wingspan was a normal eighteen feet. 

Sawamura’s wings ruffle with discomfort from a cool wind, and he slides the nail filer into his satchel. it was hard for griffins to wear duffel bags or backpacks like the other students at their university because of their wings, so they usually resorted to carrying around satchels to hook around their necks instead. he stands up on his four large paws and climbs off of the ledge and into the safe area of the turret. “will you be attending the vampi party tonight, Yaku?” Sawamura looks at said man while he talks. 

Ushijima and Yaku were following shortly after Sawamura, but Yaku was the only one who had to fly to get into the turret. a brisk wind caused Yaku to lose his balance midair, but he safely touched down. Yaku rubs his hands together for warmth before shoving them in his fraternity jacket. it was a warm gold-purple color with white accents. a royal color palette. he nods. “yeah. Kuroo invited us again. he’s so annoying, he just wants us under his little wing.”

Ushijima lets a low chuckle escape from him. “or maybe, he just wants to see you again.” Yaku gawks at his friend’s preposterous proposal before he rolls his eyes dramatically. he even clicked his tongue to add to the act. 

“no, no, Ushijima. it is simply for blackmail purposes. i know Kuroo like the back of my hand.”

“the vampi aren’t trying to find an ally in the tri gamma, Yaku, you know us griffins have been neutral since our founding,” Sawamura points at the lettering on his own jacket. “but come on. we’re going to be late for history if we don’t get going. the turret is tall!” he says with a cheerful smile, beginning to descend the stairwell that was inside the turrent. 

Ushijima gestures for Yaku to go in front of him. the shorter oblidges. Ushijima pulls the turret’s door behind him, the last sight of the trio being the lettering on their two-tone jackets and the black tips of their tails. 3Γ. 

gamma gamma gamma. 

•••

Bokuto slumps in his chair, staring down at the piece of paper in front of him. a pencil was in his hand, dull from all of the writing he’s done for the past hour. 

i will not morph during school hours. 

i will not morph during school hours.

i will not morph during school hours. 

setting down the pencil lightly so Washijou didn’t start yelling at him for disrupting his ‘peaceful environment’, Bokuto moves his head to stare out of the nearest window. 

connecticut falls were beautiful. griffins soared over red and orange trees in the open sky, the only building near their height being the university’s various turrets. their unfurled wings were as long as most classroom widths. Bokuto always loved the feeling of flying, but lycans weren’t born with wings. 

down on the grassy campus grounds, creatures of all different kinds walked around, were sitting and reading, playing frisbee or talking with friends. campus life was very active even during class time, with students having lunch periods and study halls at different times to accommodate to their own specific habits. the vampires had early eating periods and free periods when the sun wasn’t high. the sirens had the cafeteria when the clock struck twelve exactly, for their kind thrived in the sun’s light. as for Bokuto’s own kind, the lycanthropes got tossed around because they weren’t official nocturnal or diurnal animals. they went with the flow. 

Bokuto squints to see further. a long, winding river ran through the middle of the campus grounds. occasionally, figures popped up and jumped from the clear water. if Bokuto was standing at the banks of it, he could see all of the aquatic students that attended their mythical folk university from below—underwater. Bokuto was never a fan of water, though. maybe that came with the dog instincts. nobody liked baths anyway. 

further beyond the river and past the turrets, Bokuto could only just see the tops of the evergreen trees that circled the campus. the mythical university was hidden from the public’s eye; the humans couldn’t know that there were myth folk just an hour’s drive out of new york city. the woods were never to be entered, for reasons not explicitly explained but enough rumors circled around campus to convince everyone. 

Bokuto feels uneasy at the thought, and looks back down at his paper. the words jumped out at him, causing his hands to clam up.

i will not morph during school hours. 

bouncing his leg, Bokuto glances at the front of the classroom. the naga was behind his desk, his long tail coiled under him as a makeshift seat. various items littered Washijou’s desk, such as a framed picture of him with his favorite student, Ushijima. supposedly, Ushijima’s father was great friends with the dean. Bokuto wasn’t so sure about that. 

there was also a sewing kit that one of the many naga students gave him for christmas. a polished trophy that had a snake coiled around it. an empty water bottle. 

Bokuto’s prussian blue fraternity jacket sat a desk far away from the man himself. stuck in a yellow t-shirt and old gym shorts, Bokuto hugs himself. with fall upon them and winter fast approaching, he silently thanks a naga’s cold blood and their reason for heated rooms. 

another bell rings loudly; Bokuto jumps slightly, his ears ringing after the blare. being a lycan left him with heightened senses, so these bells were always digging knives into his ears. 

Washijou looks up from his book, something that Bokuto didn’t care to look at and catch the name of. “you sssstill have an hour and a half,” he hisses, adjusting his reading glasses before sticking his large nose back in his book. 

Bokuto sighs loudly and dramatically, but another look from Washijou makes him cut the drama out. the lycan looks away from the dean and back at his jacket, something he’s had since his sophomore year at this damned university. 

the large, gold-embroidered A2X mocked bokuto in his own face.

alpha chi chi.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update will be on August 22nd!  
> *[text]* = italics  
> **[text]** = bold

“so you’re telling me that Washijou already sent Bokuto to detention?”

“that’s what Kuroo texted me, at least,” a man looks down at his phone that rested on his thigh, raising an eyebrow skeptically at it. it was a rush of texts and a lot of laughing-crying emojis, but usually Kuroo didn’t fib when it came to the lycanthropes. they and vampires took their rivalry very seriously. 

a hand pushes his phone down when a professor walks through the desk aisle, her eyes squinting as she looks for anyone not paying attention. the two men seated at the two-chair table go back to their work, but kept up their conversation. 

“i wouldn’t be surprised if he’s held after his classes. he’s a lycan, they rarely take any lectures,” Iwaizumi scribbles an answer down with a fountain pen on their worksheet before glancing at his desk mate’s own paper. he was already halfway down the page, and Iwaizumi sighs at the sight. damn sirens and their knowledge in the arts. 

Oikawa cracks his knuckles after he sets down his own fountain pen, little decorative plants circling around it. Oikawa always carried around that pen, ever since the first day of freshmen year. Iwaizumi later found out it was a gift from Oikawa’s sister, who lived off the shore of Georgia, in Oikawa’s hometown. catching Iwaizumi’s flickering gaze, Oikawa smirks. “aw, is someone behind?” he taunts playfully. 

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes, grumbling a curse that the professor couldn’t hear as he went back to his work. Oikawa rums his fingers on the desk table, humming a melody that all of his kind knew. it wasn’t until the teacher passing out a finger to her lips did Oikawa quiet down. “you can wait until your free period for that,” the elder siren had chastised. 

Oikawa leans back in his chair, fiddling with his fingers as he waits for this class to end. “so.. i’m guessing the alpha two chi won’t be hosting a friday night party if bokuto’s out for the count?” he whispers, watching Iwaizumi shrug. “that means the nagas may show up to yours,” Oikawa reaches out to poke the VAMΠ on the sleeve of Iwaizumi’s jacket to accent his words. 

the vampire ignores his companion, finishing up the calculus question he was working on. tilting his pen from left to right, “Ukai said we can’t kick out any frats that weren’t explicitly uninvited if they’re already there. if we don’t address them, then the nagas have free reign as the unaffiliated ones will trail along the iota nu delta,” Iwaizumi huffs, as if he didn’t like the rule that Ukai Jr, the head of student life, had put into effect. 

Oikawa hums a song before pursing his lips. “me and Sugar can always start screeching,” a ghost of an evil grin appears on his face as he thinks of the situation. it falls a second later, “snakes don’t have good hearing.. does that count for nagas too?”

Iwaizumi exhales through his nose in amusement, finally setting down his fountain pen. “beats me, shithead. you’re the smart one here,” Iwaizumi shakes his head in defeat as the bell’s torturous ringing commences. Oikawa winces at the sharp noise to his sensitive ears, but as he glances over to the other side of the classroom, the few naga students in their class didn’t even seem fazed. 

“guess not,” Oikawa passes his paper up to the person in front of him to be sent up to the front of the classroom. “pity. the bitches are extremely sensitive to our screeching but not the snakes,” he remarks without a filter.

a passing student glares at Oikawa at the curse, sniffing his nose before scowling. “rude,” is all the student growls, bristling, before stalking out of the classroom. Iwaizumi lifts a palm in the werewolf’s wake in apology before following Oikawa out of the class. 

sighing loudly and folding his arms behind his head, Oikawa glances at his short friend. “looks like lycanthropes are sensitive to words too,” the siren laughs, unzipping his own fraternity jacket as they passed through the very courtyard that precious showdown went down in. his jacket was a baby blue, with the lettering a white and silver combo. the vampire rolls his eyes, elbowing oikawa roughly in the side. 

“you’re just as bad.”

Oikawa gawks before a scowl settles over his face. Iwaizumi smirks, speeding up his pace. a small, indignant screech comes from behind Iwaizumi, who laughs. he was right, after all. 

Oikawa zips up the jacket once they head indoors, shoving his hands into his pockets. the white and silver embroidered ΦΛ on his jacket stretches, glinting in the sunlight that shone through the many windows. 

phi lambda. 

•••

“you have thirty minutessss,” Washijou informs the single man in his detention when the bell rings again. Bokuto leans back in his chair with his arms out dramatically. his jaw was dropped as he tilts his head up slightly for the added effect. 

“c’mon, Washijou, my guy, my bro. you love me. just let me go! i already took all my classes for today, it’s a friday! cut me some slack,” Bokuto tries to reason with the naga, but it always Akaashi who was the better at negotiating. Washijou looks at Bokuto through his thin reading glasses, wearing a deep scowl that could leave wrinkles. Bokuto sighs, the sound vibrating in the back of his throat with a growl. 

“firsssst of all, i am not your guy nor am i your bro. ssssecond of all, don’t growl at me, young man. you conscioussssly chosssse to morph, or are you blood-doping again? i will keep you longer if that’s the casssse,” Washijou hisses, his raspy voice mixed with the acidic tone he spoke in. Bokuto huffs, crossing his arms and pouting in his seat when there was a knock on the door. 

the dean looks up from his book. his eyes twinkle with mild surprise, but his permanent frown remained. “ah, Daishou, come in,” he welcomes the student waiting at the door. “don’t mind mr Bokuto, he’ssss just finishing up hissss detention. what bringssss you here sssso late, your day should be over ssssoon,” Washijou asks, making a point by sending a glare towards Bokuto. he puts down his book and facing the other naga that slithers into the room. 

Daishou peels off his foresty green fraternity jacket, which had brown elbow pads and a rustic look to it. he lays it on top of Bokuto’s, an action the latter only chuckles at. he winks at the lycan, who smiles knowingly back. 

nagas were similar to griffins in their body composition. their lower half was all serpentine, a long, scaled tail with a rough underbelly to deal with varying terrain. the coloring of their tails was as genetic-based as the griffins’ wings and fur coats were. Daishou had a vibrant green tail. he wasn’t a rattletail like Washijou was. 

“nothing, i just came to ssssee my favorite professssor,” Daishou purrs, picking up the empty water bottle on Washijou’s desk. the latter didn’t look very amused, but kept the conversation rolling. 

“well, Daishou, give me thirty minutessss, then. he’ssss almost done,” Washijou points at Bokuto, who smiles widely right back. Washijou sighs in exasperation, looking at the younger naga as Daishou speaks again. 

“thirty minutessss already? how long hassss he been here?” Daishou questions, a hand covering his mouth as if he was finding out a secret he shouldn’t know. 

Washijou nods solemnly, “about an hour and a half.” Daishou nods several times in understanding, his heavy eyelids drooping even lower. his eyes were practically the width of coin slots. 

“aren’t you missssing your evening break, ssssir? i personally just had the best m&m pancakessss, today’ssss breakfasssst for lunch. i wouldn’t want you to get grumpy with no sugar in your ssssysstem,” Daishou puckers his lips sympathetically. Bokuto stifles a laugh from his chair. Washijou was quietly thinking, furrowing his eyebrows. if anyone could sweet talk a teacher, it was Suguru Daishou. 

“i do not think sssso, i think i have it in an hour or sssso,” was Washijou’s reply. his voice wasn’t lined with hesitation, instead, it came out just as formal as everything else that comes out of his mouth. Daishou frowns, tapping his cheek a few times as if he was in thought. 

“i can cover the last thirty minutessss for Bokuto if you want, ssssir. i’m responssssible, you know that. it took me a while to come up here from the lunch hall. you may want to get down there early before the other sssstaff members flood in,” Daishou spins the water bottle around in his hand, watching Washijou’s crumpled and foggy reflection in it. 

Washijou furrows his eyebrows before shaking his head. “no, i think i will be fine if i go down there when he’s done,” Washijou looks at Bokuto again, as if he was the reason for all of his troubles. he probably was, for the majority of them at least. Bokuto sighs, slouching in his seat. his paper with all those sentences was covered with meaningless doodles by now. 

“okay, if you ssssay sssso, ssssir,” Daishou smiles sweetly at Washijou. short, not even inch-long fangs peeked from under his upper lip. “do make sure you get down there ssssoon, because i hear that they sssserved actual pop tarts today ssssince it’s friday, not those sssstinky, sssstore-brand onessss. it’d be a shame if they ran out before you got down there, you know how quickly they run out.”

that piqued Washijou’s interest. all nagas were born with an unnatural sweet tooth; old nagaian diets were whole humans. since the consumption of humans was modernly considered to be taboo, nagas turned to sugar. one would think it would give the nagas endless energy, but they calmed down with sugar instead. Washijou was a rather uptight man, and Bokuto hadn’t made his mood any better. 

Washijou glances at the timer he had going for Bokuto’s remaining time. twenty-four minutes. sighing, Washijou looks back at Daishou. “watch him for the resssst. i hope they have the sssstrawberry ones,” the dean’s fingers itch as he slithers out of the room and into the hallway. “out of my way, sssstudentss. Tanji’ssss treating himsssself,” was what he hissed as he exited the classroom. he had forgotten about Bokuto. 

Daishou tosses the water bottle into Washijou’s recycling bin, hearing the faint scratch of metal against tile from behind him. Bokuto passes the naga, stepping around the long, bright green tail of his to retrieve their two jackets. tossing Daishou’s to him, Bokuto shrugs his prussian blue one on. Daishou holds it, enjoying the warmth of the room for a moment longer before slipping the dark green jacket on. 

“what took you so long?” a cheeky grin appears on Bokuto’s face. Daishou rolls his eyes, curling his tail around so he could walk, or rather, snake alongside the lycan. 

“if it was any longer, he wouldn’t have gone sssso eagerly. at least he’ll forget about you temporarily because there *are* pop tartssss in the kitchen,” was Daishou’s verbal response. Bokuto pats the naga roughly on the back, laughing. 

“it pays off to have allies in the right class, hey?”

the dark brown, sewn ΙΝΔ on the back of Daishou’s jacket was smooth against Bokuto’s hand. 

“it doessss.”

iota nu delta. 

•••

“there’s my second favorite siren.~” Iwaizumi mimics Oikawa’s singsong voice with his hand, but he straightens his posture to greet his friend with a hug. Sugawara was always a ray of sunshine, contrasting Oikawa’s varying attitudes. the two wore the same letterings on their jacket, so that tied them close enough. 

“how was your day, Sugar?” Oikawa teases with his nickname for the shorter, weaving an arm around Sugawara’s waist and poking at his cheek after the latter had pulled away from Iwaizumi’s hug. Sugawara pushes away the siren with a laugh. Iwaizumi stifles his own, instead yanking Oikawa back by the collar of his jacket so Sugawara had some breathing room. 

said man smiles sweetly at Iwaizumi, his hands folded before his lap as they stood near the siren-vampire border of the campus grounds. each class tended to lay claim to a different area of the campus grounds, but there was no official borders as everyone was able to walk, pad or slither around as they pleased. “it went fine, my criminology report went all well so i’m happy about that!”

“that’s great to hear, Suga,” Iwaizumi responds, checking his phone as it brightened with a notification. he looks up, his grip tightening on Oikawa as the siren attempts to hug Sugawara. clingy bastard. “ah.. Kuroo, the twins and Kentarou went straight to the house,” Iwaizumi informs the two sirens, watching Oikawa smother Sugawara with affection just with his eyes. Sugawara didn’t meet his gaze. 

“you should head over then,” Sugawara chuckles, covering his open mouth with a hand. “if vampi is having a party tonight, we’ll be there, right?” he glances at Oikawa as he spoke, his gaze almost harsh. Oikawa nods furiously, turning towards Iwaizumi with a stuck-out tongue and a peace sign. 

“vampi parties are never dull, Iwa. i can have fun with shotgunning beers there and not deal with a wet dog smell if any lycanthrope spills theirs,” Oikawa snickers, Sugawara joining in. Iwaizumi sighs, finally letting go of Oikawa. the latter closes the distance between himself and Sugawara, latching onto the silveret’s arm like a leech. Sugawara shakes him off, wearing a cheery smile the entire time as he faced Iwaizumi. 

Iwaizumi only nods, catching sight of Oikawa’s shooing hand. taking the hint, the vampire tugs his backpack up higher onto his shoulders. waving back, he turns away from the pair, disappearing into the student body of their university. 

“now, let’s go get ourselves ready, hm?” Sugawara proposes as he drops the hand that returned the wave, turning to Oikawa with his ever-present smile. Oikawa‘s eye twitches at the sight of it, but he nods. 

“sounds great!” Oikawa flashes his own smile. the two sirens hook arms like the best friends since youth that they are before emerging themselves in their siren brethren, playing off any incoming looks with their happy-go-lucky images. 

•••

as for Iwaizumi, he was walking towards the VAMΠ house. every fraternity and sorority had their own clubhouse, either in the university’s gates or out of it. the vampires, the sirens, and the griffins had houses inside the gates while the lycanthropes and the nagas were out of it. the separation was for safety reasons. 

because of the lycanthropic-vampiric rivalry, the two had the furthest houses possible. the lycanthropes were also off campus so full moons didn’t result in casualties, like it has in the past. the nagas preferred their seclusion over socialization, and the sirens went with the flow. the griffins were in the center of the campus grounds, providing as a beacon of neutrality between the two sides. 

most members still slept in their dormitories, and not in the houses. the only ones who slept in the houses—typically, at least—were the de facto leader(s), anyone who had unfortunate roommates, needed a place to sleep if something happened to their dormitory, or they were just too drunk to walk home. all of the university’s dormitories were in one giant building with floors for each bunking species, behind the Lorde’s amphitheater, which was named after the campus’s first headmaster and the creator of the university. the dormitories were massive, with six stories filled with rooms of five of them that tailored to individual myth folk species’ needs. 

Iwaizumi wonders what his own roommate was doing as he jogs up the stairs. the VAMΠ fraternity house was rather modern with a sleek, gray-black look to it, mimicking the look that the university’s own buildings had. it was two stories, with the second floor’s frontal part carved out for a deck. already, Iwaizumi could see some of his fellow vampires, and he smirks to himself when a pair of passing bats whooshes past his head and through the door’s few holes, added just for that reason. 

opening the door, the two bats had disappeared further into the house. Iwaizumi was instead greeting with several tight hugs and slaps on the back from the vampires that had come to the house directly from their last class or lecture. making his way to the kitchen, he drops his book bag near the counter as a familiar face strolls up to him. 

“hello, Aran,” Iwaizumi greets with a chuckle, waving at his roommate as he searches for fruit in the shared fridge. Ojiro nods at the shorter in greeting, and only when he nods does Iwaizumi see two wads of twisted tissue in Ojiro’s ears. “the twins already bombarding you?” Iwaizumi teases. Ojiro sighs, pulling out the tissues. he opens his mouth to say something, but he closes his mouth with shouting commences from somewhere in the house. 

“Araaaaan, tell ‘Samu that ‘s my beer staff, not his!”

“Aran, ‘Tsumu’s lyin’ again!”

Ojiro deflates. Iwaizumi laughs at the expense of his friend, walking over with a handful of berries in his hand and patting Ojiro on the shoulder. “hey, you sucked ‘em, you live with ‘em,” Iwaizumi shakes his head. 

“why is Kyoutani so good with you and i have to deal with them?” Ojiro gestures to the archway that led to the upstairs. a blond man was tumbling down the stairs with a silveret following shortly, both of them shouting curses in spanish as they threw punches and poked each other in the eyes. 

Iwaizumi’s shoulders shake with restrained laughter at the sight. “seriously, i regret picking them up from spain,” Ojiro sighs, walking away from the kitchen to deal with the two younger vampires. Iwaizumi laughs, seeing another figure enter the house like a phantom. rosemary filled his nose. moving away from the kitchen as he shoves more berries inside his mouth, he greets Kuroo with a handshake and a brother hug. 

“heard you had a run in with commander bitch today, huh?” Iwaizumi jokes; Kuroo grins pervertishly, plucking one of Iwaizumi’s berries from his open hand and chewing on it. 

“he got two hours today! two!!” Kuroo almost celebrates. “he got what was coming for him, though. morphed almost entirely, eh? fucking dumbass lycans,” Kuroo plays the last sentence off with a chill tone despite the curses. Iwaizumi finishes the berries, wiping his hand on his shorts. he wore a lopsided grin as Kuroo makes a beeline towards the kitchen. “do you know if Osamu ate all my fries again?” he asks to no one in particular, but Iwaizumi was leaning on the counter behind him. 

“don’t think so,” the shorter responses, scrolling on his phone. Kuroo fist pumps as he pulls a takeout box out of the mysterious depths of the fridge, tossing it into the microwave soon after. “so.. party, tonight?”

Kuroo flashes his signature cheshire cat grin at Iwaizumi. it was a tell all action. Iwaizumi snorts in amusement, looking back down to focus on his phone. “sounds lit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two, let’s goooo.
> 
> here are other main characters for this work; there are still others, but this is to widen the cast. with so many characters, i did my best to keep everyone as close to canon as possible (since nobody likes ooc portrayals). i hope i did everyone justice.  
> there’s a lot in store for this, so while it seems a bit slow in the beginning, it’ll pick up quickly. patience is key, hm?
> 
> looks like VAMΠ is planning a party, hm? can’t wait to see how that turns out. stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update will be August 25th!  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

Bokuto and Daishou strode side by side as they crossed campus grounds. they left a wake of parted students, as anyone would’ve done when two of the most powerful people—socially—on campus arrived on scene. they took the special treatment as if it was a leisure that everyone was given, but it was obvious by the side glares the two threw at a few laggers that they meant business. 

“got any planssss tonight?” Daishou asks as the two waited for a group of nagas to pass. because of their tails, it was hard for nagas to cross each other’s path, so the pair were forced to stop. it was also bad manners to step over a naga’s tail, for courtesy reasons. checking his phone for the time, Daishou’s tail tip flicks back and forth behind him with subdued impatience. 

Bokuto shrugs, stepping over the end bit of the last naga’s tail. Daishou wrinkles his nose at the action, feeling offended on behalf of the other naga, but he doesn’t voice his annoyance. “nah. maybe later tonight, i’ll try and crash the vampires’ party. spike their drinks with garlic bits, the works,” the lycan chuckles from the back of his throat. 

Daishou hums at the idea, neutral. “were the alpha two chi uninvited?” he asks as the two neared a small bridge. it rested over the thicker part of the river, allowing for smooth passing for the land dwellers. Bokuto tilts his head to the side in thought before nodding. 

“pretty sure, man. when was the last time they did invite us, heh?” Daishou’s tongue flicks from out behind his lips. Bokuto hides a flinch at the sight. carrying on, the lycan shoves his hands into his jacket’s pockets. “i don’t think we’ll throw another party tonight, maybe tomorrow though.”

“why sssso?” Daishou inquires, feeling prickles of water fall on his tail as there’s a large splash from below the bridge. turning his head to scowl down at the river, all Daishou saw in return was a scaly middle finger sticking out of the water. Bokuto laughs loudly when Daishou grimaces at the sight. “i really can’t stand those guys.”

Bokuto bites the inside of his mouth before shrugging with no opinion. “hey, Terushima isn’t so bad.”

“he’s alsssso the one who’s on land the most because of his whole ‘oh let’ssss all be friendssss and party’ motto. the onessss who live down there twenty four-sssseven are creepy. have you sssseen them sssswim past the basement windows?” Daishou shivers at the thought. the creatures of the deep were some of the freakiest out there, mythical or not. 

“those are big words coming from a half snake man,” the sentence slipped through Bokuto’s mouth without a filter. Daishou glares holes in the profile of Bokuto’s face, another scowl settling on his mouth. the two come down from the bridge and Daishou stops. 

“not all of usss are blessed with control over our appearanccccess, Bokuto,” Daishou hisses before turning away from the lycan. Bokuto retained his lazy smile, watching Daishou slither with purpose away from him. shrugging as if his disrespect didn’t bother his conscience, Bokuto continues to stroll towards the lycanthrope area of the campus grounds. the nagas weren’t so far; maybe if he saw Daishou again, he’d throw him a lollipop. that’d win over the latter again. 

passing a group of female werewolves, Bokuto offers a wink to them. one of them swoons dramatically while the others just smile. high fiving the one who swooned for the show, Bokuto continues through the crowd of lycanthropes before seeing his usual pack. 

“aren’t you due for another ten minutes,” Sakusa asks nosily after catching sight of his fellow lycan. he moves from his spot on a rock next to Akaashi, letting Bokuto sniff akaashi a few times before setting down on the rock that Sakusa left open. 

Akaashi moves slightly to make room for the large lycan, who crosses his arms behind his head. “Daishou picked me up and got me out a half hour earlier! can you believe it?” Bokuto acts all surprised while in reality, Daishou has done that several times already. Akaashi sighs to himself, glancing across at Nishinoya. the littlest of their group, physically and age-wise, was tapping away at his phone, not mentally present in the conversation. 

Bokuto frowns, waving his hand in front of the werewolf’s eyes. Nishinoya looks up, a smile illuminating his face. “oh, hey, Bo!” he belatedly greets the lycan. Bokuto smiles right back, leaning back down and drawing Akaashi close with an arm. 

Sakusa’s posture tenses up, but as Nishinoya jumps up, he looks at the shorter. “well, i’m supposed to go see where Hinata went. i had him for like, five minutes, and then he disappeared again. you guys wanna come?” he asks excitedly, looking at Bokuto and then at the two ravenets. 

Sakusa side eyes Akaashi before nodding. “i have to find Kiyoko. my father wants to talk to us,” the lycan resumes his signature slouch. 

“alright! you two lovebirds good?” Nishinoya looks at Bokuto and Akaashi with his eyebrows wiggling. Bokuto nods for the both of them, the latter of which not even meeting Nishinoya’s eyes. 

“have fun, you two! don’t forget to drop by the house some time, i’m planning on a party tomorrow night so we gotta go shopping~,” Bokuto sings, running a hand through his oddly-stylized hair. Nishinoya nods before skipping away from the pair, Sakusa in tow.

as the two weaved their way through the lycanthrope population on campus, Nishinoya watches Sakusa’s mask crumple as he was, no doubt, scowling at the past scene they left from. Nishinoya meets his eyes sympathetically. “do you really need to find the goddess?” he speaks of Shimizu dotingly, but there was an underlining hesitation in his voice. Sakusa sniffs the air, searching for a scent he knew all too well. when it was came back clean, Sakusa sighs. 

“i do want to check on my cousin,” he replies smoothly. “she probably hasn’t gone to the sorority house yet, she’s too studious for a lycan.”

“you’re too studious for a lycan,” Nishinoya shoots back. Sakusa exhales through his nose with a shake of his head. he fixes his mask, looping the bands back around his ears. Nishinoya laughs, finally breaking through the lycanthrope section. 

“c’mon. let’s go find Hinata before- oh, that was easy,” Nishinoya began before looking up. a tuff of orange hair was right in front of them up in the sky, gripping onto the back of an unamused griffin. Nishinoya laughs loudly, running ahead of Sakusa and waving his hands over his heads as he jumped up. “Hinata! yo, Hinata! share the griffin, huh?!”

the griffin’s head looks down and a large sigh comes from it. Sakusa could feel the annoyance seeping from the griffin’s aura as he drew closer, his stellar ears picking up tidbits of Hinata’s energetic voice bickering with what the griffin was saying. something about being nice to your seniors, and that Nishinoya is not a senior. 

finally, he drops down to the ground. Hinata slides off of the griffin’s back, hugging the tall man gratefully before running over to Nishinoya. the two short men exchange hugs before laughing about their classes as Sakusa makes his way over to the griffin. 

Tsukishima was a finely-pruned griffin. he was on the larger side of the griffin scale, but not as massive as Ushijima. his jet black wings contrasted his blond hair and blond fur, and his glasses only amplified the diplomatic look to him. he wasn’t a solid color like Yaku was, but his color palette still worked out beautifully. his wingspan was a solid twenty feet, a gorgeous sight up in the sky.

folding his wings behind his back, Tsukishima folds his arms over his chest as he watches Hinata and Nishinoya bounce up and down like springs. he clicks his tongue disapprovingly before padding towards Sakusa. the lycan bobs his head in greeting as Tsukishima snorts like a lion. his wings ruffle. “odd seeing you here, Sakusa. knowing you with Bokuto in detention, i thought you’d be near Akaashi,” Tsukishima wore no jacket over his t-shirt; freshmen weren’t allowed to join fraternities or sororities. 

Sakusa fixes his own prussian blue jacket, watching Nishinoya and Hinata run over to the bank of the river. a head had peeked out, Hinata was tossed a shell or two, and Nishinoya squeals with laughter. Sakusa watches Tsukishima’s face soften slightly at the sight of the two. he growls out a chuckle, “i thought you didn’t give Hinata anymore air rides after he almost threw up that one time.”

Tsukishima looks at Sakusa with his usual deadpan expression back, adjusting his glasses. “he promised me strawberry shortcake. i have weaknesses. but really, where is Bokuto? i heard of his confrontation with Kuroo and consequential detention from Sawamura.” what did those big words mean again? Sakusa remembered some things from literature class, but didn’t ask for clarification. instead, Sakusa nods his head at the mention of the senior griffin. he didn’t know him as well as he knew Ushijima, but Sawamura still received the same respect he’d give to self-appointed campus monitor. 

“apparently, Daishou got him out from under Washijou’s nose. i think Washijou is racist, he only lets the nagas get away with what they want.. oh, and Wakatoshi,” Sakusa shakes his head. Tsukishima stifles a snarky laugh at the assumption. “i haven’t seen Daishou though. he’s probably with the other nagas, but Bokuto appeared maybe ten minutes ago? took back Akaashi within seconds,” Sakusa’s eyebrows furrow as he speaks, but his mask hid a scowl. 

Tsukishima nods, pawing at the ground with a forepaw. “i understand the possession thing. we griffins are just as bad as your kind,” he mumbles. Sakusa looked as if he was about to say something, but Hinata and Nishinoya were already running back to the tow conversing men. 

“Tsuuki! i got shells for you and everyone else!” Hinata exclaims, holding five shells in his hands. Tsukishima reluctantly accepts one of them after seeing Hinata’s puppy eyes, but not without a click of his tongue. “oh, Sakusa! hi! shell!” he exclaims through butchered speech, thrusting a shell up in Sakusa’s face. the lycan backs up, but takes the shell after a moment of hesitation. there was no point in refusing a gift from Hinata, no matter where they may have been; Sakusa had a collection of all sorts of things in his dormitory from the younger werewolf, ranging from rocks, leaves, twigs, candy wrappers (ew), and other shells. he bows his head as thanks. Nishinoya steps into line next to Sakusa.

Hinata was excitedly talking to Tsukishima about the three other shells he had in his possession, talking about a Yamaguchi, a Kageyama and a Yachi. Sakusa recognized Kageyama as a freshmen siren, but not the other two. Nishinoya chuckles, waving at the two freshmen before walking away. Sakusa follows after a second, pocketing the shell. 

“he’s a good kid,” Nishinoya says after a moment of silence. “i’m glad that he’s hopeful on join alpha two chi.. by then, Bokuto’ll be out,” he whispers the latter as if it was a secret. Sakusa only nods solemnly; he couldn’t agree more. 

•••

“Tobio~? Tobio?”

Kageyama does anything but look up when someone he knew all too well began to sing his name. when was Oikawa not singing was a proper thought to ponder for a later time as Kageyama ducks his head behind a library shelf. unfortunately, both he and the senior were tall, so Oikawa spotted the freshmen with no trouble. 

running up and giving Kageyama a forceful nuggie, Kageyama pushes Oikawa off of him before standing up. Oikawa pouts, but his attention drifts to the book that Kageyama was looking out a moment later. 

“Tobio, do you even know some of these words?” Oikawa dotes with a pitiful look in his eyes. he pulls out a book with his index finger, flipping the book over twice before staring at Kageyama as if he grew two heads. “Tobio, really. this is junior level curriculum.”

Kageyama snatches the book back, returning it to its spot. “i’m looking for something else,” is all Kageyama grumbles in his low voice, moving some hair out of the way as he squats down to a lower shelf. Oikawa follows, his thumb and index finger positioned on his chin like the thinker. he saw right through Kageyama’s quietness.. and stubbornness. 

“well? what are you looking for then?”

“uhm.. the sea dweller section,” Kageyama responds hesitantly. Oikawa’s face brightens up in an instant before it drops, all serious. Kageyama raises an eyebrow, waiting for Oikawa to speak. 

“you do know this is the british history section, right?” Oikawa whispers. 

Kageyama’s lips press together into a line, catching Oikawa off guard and sending him into a fit of laughter. bouncing up, Oikawa pulls Kageyama by his wrist and pulls him out of the british history section, still giggling at the other’s childish stupidity. “come on, you absolute moron.”

Kageyama lets himself be dragged, more because he had no say over this and not because he wanted to be. Oikawa lets him go when they reach an area of the library Kageyama had yet to step into because there were always a bunch of griffins in this area. the griffins tended to clog the aisles with their bodies. 

“so~, what do you want to know? about the hierarchy, or maybe the different kinds of sea dwellers? the sirens’ history with the water, or maybe the potamoi? Tethys and Oceanus or Neptune?” Oikawa rambles off words that Kageyama had a vague understanding of. he was a freshmen in university, but his vocabulary was one of a freshmen in high school. 

“uhh,” Kageyama replies intelligently. “the uh, different kinds of sea dwellers,” he shifts on his feet. “my friend is obsessed with the water, ironically he’s a werewolf, but i kind of want to know a bit more so i’m not just nodding like a fool.”

Oikawa’s eyebrows shoot up before he drops one playfully. “you’re trying to impress someone~?” he teases, reaching over to pinch Kageyama’s cheek. his hand is slapped down, but Oikawa giggles nonetheless. “okay, okay. i’ll stop, i have Kyoken to do that to. that’s very responsible of you, Tobio,” Oikawa comments, pulling out a few books and dropping them in Kageyama’s awaiting arms. “but unfortunately for you, the sea dwellers are very expansive and complex, and i have a party soon so i’m not going to be here to help you le-“

“learn, i know,” Kageyama grunts, letting one more book be placed onto his pile before turning away and striding to a nearby table. “i just need ten minutes of your time, alright? that’s it.”

Oikawa follows Kageyama like a puppy, but didn’t answer. instead, he slips past Kageyama to watch him dump his armful of books onto the table with a soft grunt. sighing, Oikawa rests his elbows onto the tabletop as he leans forward. “five minutes. teaching you is like teaching a brick wall.”

“eight minutes.”

“six.”

“seven.”

Oikawa whips out his phone, quickly asking siri to set a seven minute timer. when that was all said and done, Oikawa takes a seat across from Kageyama and takes one of the books. he doesn’t open it though, and Kageyama knew he wasn’t going to. it was simply a string of luck that his older sister’s best friend’s little brother was just shy of being a genius, but his knowledge in myth folk was extraordinary even past that sparkly badge of being an intellectual. 

“so, you probably know the two big names from the sea. the potamoi and the naiads, right?” seeing Kageyama’s shrug, Oikawa groans under his breath. “listen up, dumbass, since you need to know at least those two to start,” Oikawa huffs before he regains his pretty smile.

“the potamoi and the naiads both originated in the mediterranean. the first potamoi and naiads were children of the titans Tethys and Oceanus, and there was an average of three thousand for each kind. today, they still average to be three thousand, because births are rare and only happen when there’s a passing. nowadays, the naiads tend to rule over in europe and asia, but the potamoi moved because of some political battles with the naiads. now, the potamoi stick to the americas. 

“the naiads are the female counterparts of the potamoi and vise versa, the potamoi are the male counterparts of the naiads. they are not exactly the same, though. the potamoi and the naiads both are considered divine species, but since you will only, rarely, run into potamoi unless you go aboard somewhere, i’ll just talk about them,” Oikawa straightens his posture in his chair. Kageyama looked engrossed in what Oikawa was saying, the latter finding his facial expression amusing.

“the potamoi have three forms,” Oikawa brings a hand in front of Kageyama’s face. “one,” his index finger goes up. “their bull forms. bulls have always had a close connection with the sea, since sailors would sacrifice the animals to Poseidon, the greek god of the sea, in a prayer for safe sailing and calm seas. most potamoi don’t live as their bull form, since it’s usually for defensive motives. it’s also rather impractical, don’t you think?”

Oikawa flicks up his middle finger, not letting Kageyama react to his question. “two, their human form. this is rather self explanatory, but because i know your grades, i’ll explain it for you,” Oikawa giggles when he sees the harsh glare Kageyama sent him. 

“it’s a human body, simple enough. all potamoi are amphibious, so it makes sense that they need a human form to blend in with society. they can’t run around in their bull or pure form all the time. anyway, their human forms only differ from real humans by their teeth, which are triangular like a shark’s, and bunches of scales on their bodies randomly that match their tails in their pure form.”

Kageyama nods in understanding, “what’s their pure form?” Oikawa flicks up his ring finger. 

“three.”

the shrill bell comes from the senior siren’s phone. Kageyama’s face drops to one of horror, watching Oikawa stand up with a smug grin on his face. picking up his phone and pocketing it in his fraternity jacket, he smiles warmly at Kageyama—what a tease.

“sorry, Tobio, but your seven minutes of my precious time are up,” he closes his eyes while he smiles. flashing Kageyama a peace sign, he begins to walk away from the table.

“what- what about the pure form! what is it?” Kageyama shouts as he stands up, his hands on the table. he ignores the glare that the since-docile librarian sent him. 

Oikawa looks back, sticking his tongue out. “you’ll know when you see it~,” was the mysterious answer. Kageyama watches the siren wave at a passing griffin student before he turned down an aisle that led to the entrance of the ginormous library, and disappeared. 

Kageyama falls back into his chair with a loud and gruff grunt, sending a glare towards the librarian as she shushed him. staring down at the book in front of him, Kageyama quietly sighs. he hated reading with a passion, but with nothing else to do for the rest of friday afternoon, it looked like he’ll have his nose in these books for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo more characters and friendships, we love those.   
> i know the Oikawa / Kageyama relationship is more antagonistic in canon, but in this universe, they grew up as “cousins”, so to speak, so the warring is a bit died down. you’ll see later on that there is hints of jealousy from Oikawa’s side about Kageyama, though.   
> and the Nishinoya / Sakusa friendship kind of just happened? it’s cute and i love it for some reason? thanks. you’ll see who Azumane ends up with as a best friend in short time :))  
> slowly but surely, i’m laying down the groundwork for future relationships that will play a large role later on. mm, i’m really excited for this! stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update is August 29th.  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

griffins didn’t typically go to parties. their bodies were large enough in hallways. in classrooms? they had entire, specially made tables dedicated to their kind or a pair of desks pushed together for them because griffins had to curve their lower bodies around in a lounge position. they took up space in lines. their wings added more body mass. 

so, shoving a few of them in a closed area with two feet people was a bad idea. at least nagas could coil their tails. it was difficult for griffins to sit like a real lion because of their wings, whose ends would push into the ground and cause pain. 

this was a reason that 3Γ typically didn’t go to other parties, let them be fraternity ones or hype ones, or even chill ones. 

but when your house was personally invited by a group to a party, it was customary by polite griffin customs to show up, even for a few minutes before making an irish exit. 

Ushijima sighs, his wings ruffling with discomfort as he looks over the text message he received from Kuroo. it contained lots of exclamation points and different emojis, but personally, Ushijima wanted to do anything but go to a party on a friday night. 

he was in the 3Γ house, which was the largest on-campus house reserved for fraternities and sororities. the griffin sorority was, unsurprisingly, the second largest. 

it had a very rustic yet dignified feel to it, dark toned wood used towards staircases, balconies, and lofts. the inside was very open and airy, given that griffins were some of the largest myth folk and their wings were very clumsy when unfolded. giant, open windows created arches up in the roof, leading to a pyramid-like roof. there were no couches or seats, just a table in the living room with a tv. the griffins couldn’t use most furniture, it just used up space. there was only one chair in the whole house, and that was used by Yaku alone. 

speaking of which, Yaku was talking to another griffin energetically about the same person that Ushijima was hesitate to respond to. as much as Yaku said he hated the vampire, it was obvious he had a soft spot for Kuroo. how much of a soft spot, Ushijima could guess it was the size of rhode island from how much smack Yaku talked. 

standing up, Ushijima greets a sophomore griffin with a shallow nod before padding towards Yaku. plopping his rear next to Yaku’s chair, the junior Yaku was talking to soon drifted away. Yaku spins in his chair, stopping with a hand on Ushijima’s shoulder. Yaku tilts his head in question and Ushijima hands the small male his phone. 

Yaku reads over the texts a few times before looking up at Ushijima. Ushijima kept up his neutral look, but Yaku saw right through it. Ushijima, Yaku hands the phone back to Ushijima. “just say that some of us will go. i know you don’t like parties that much, Ushijima.”

Ushijima purses his lips, glancing down at his phone. “but then i feel like i’m rejecting the invite still,” he mumbles. his tail sways nervously behind his rear; it was a griffin trait to have ingrained politeness, so much so they rarely entered a house unless they were welcomed, like a vampire, but only because they didn’t want to seem rude or intruding. 

“Ushijima,” Yaku wiggles on his chair. “really. Kita already said he’d go with me already, and i bet a lot of the newly-inducted sophomores would love to a party so early into the semester,” he laughs, running a hand through his short hair. “maybe you could stay with Sawamura, or work on your schoolwork?” 

Ushijima purses his lips again before sighing with a hint of an annoyed growl. “i suppose,” he replies. Ushijima didn’t like schoolwork. he wasn’t very bright, and it took a long time to get done. “is Sawamura attending?”

“i heard my name?”

Sawamura flaps down from where he entered through an open window, landing on his four paws and folding his large wings. another griffin shortly followed, smaller than Sawamura but not by much. the new griffin lands besides his dark winged friend, bowing his head politely towards Ushijima and Yaku. Kita’s eyes twinkle with a spark of happiness as he looks at Sawamura. 

Kita was an interesting griffin. his two toned hair reflected on his wings. his wings were a similar pattern to his hair, a smooth transition between silver and black feathers. his fur was a light brown, and he was missing a few talons on his front right paw after a run-in with a mooned werewolf a few years ago. his wingspan was seventeen feet, a justifiable length for a griffin his size. 

“yeah! Ushijima is nervous about replying to Kuroo’s invitation because he feels like everyone should go,” Yaku looks at Ushijima to make sure he got the gist of it correct, and after seeing no change in his facial expression, Yaku looks back at Sawamura and Kita. “are you two going? hi, Kita, by the way.”

Kita smiles softly at the small griffin, letting Sawamura speak first. Sawamura only chuckles at Ushijima’s nervousness, but he understood it. all griffins had a fault of politeness. 

“personally, i’m not going. i’m going to be out with Tsukishima tonight,” Yaku nods at the mention of the freshmen griffin. “he’s taking advanced classes and asked if he and his naga friend, who’s in the same class, can have some help on their schoolwork. Ushijima, if you want to come with me, i don’t think they’d mind, especially since Tsukishima is from your clan,” he smiles warmly at the giant griffin. 

Ushijima nods slowly, “it’s been a few weeks since i’ve talked to Kei. i wonder if he has settled in nicely.” Ushijima’s olive eyes soon turn the two-toned griffin. Kita retains his calm demeanor under the neutral look, taking it as an offer to speak. 

“i’m going to attend. i have a few friends in vampi, and i’d like to see them outside of a school setting,” Kita’s eyes close as he smiles. “it’s not supposed to be very wild, not too much alcohol. the vampires have their blood night next week, so they can’t take too much alcohol.”

Yaku nods with a small laugh. “see, Ushijima? it’s not an extremely important party, Kuroo won’t mind if everyone doesn’t show!” seeing Ushijima’s face relax as he calms down, the former smiles. “just text Kuroo and say some of us will attend or something. if he asks me when we’re there, i’ll say that some griffins had schoolwork.”

Ushijima begins to type away on his phone after he opens it. Yaku hops off of his chair, padding towards the pair so Ushijima could concentrate. he could get so formal over texts sometimes. “how’s Tsukishima liking it here?” he asks, lounging down next to where Kita was. Sawamura stayed upright, stretching his hind legs. 

“eh, he’s slowly getting used to it. having so many species in one, enclosed space is sometimes a rude awakening, especially for us griffins. i remember my first day here. i almost started crying when i first saw a naga,” Sawamura laughs. Kita stifles a chuckle while Yaku covers his mouth with a hand as he snickers. “hey, i’ve never seen one with their tail out before,” he holds up his hands in innocence. 

Kita’s tail flicks with amusement, thinking of his own story. “as you two know, i come from a very mixed town. my parents had a lot of friends who were different folk, but after seeing two lycans wrestle, albeit playfully, my first month..” he grows pales at the thought. Yaku pats Kita’s thigh with his closer hand, knowing of his incident and his fear of lycanthropes from such event. 

Kita gulps down the rest of his story, looking at Sawamura to continue. getting the hint, Sawamura looks back at Yaku. “but yeah. i think he likes it here. he’s already made a few friends, i’m so proud,” Sawamura wipes a fake tear from his eye like a proud dad. “none of them are griffins, but you know what? that’s fine. this university’s all about the myth folk’s more modern generations or our oldest being introduced to a possible future society where we all live together,” Sawamura hesitates. “peacefully.”

•••

“i’m going to throw you into the water if you keep trying to get on my back, Hinata.”

“aw, c’mon, Kageyama! just one little piggyback ride to Tsuuki’s common room!”

Kageyama scowls down at the short werewolf. Hinata responds with a poor mimic of the scowl before bursting into the a fit of laughter. Kageyama huffs through his nose, sulking. 

the two were walking along the riverbank towards the dormitory area of campus. they only knew of where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were, but, a fact that the pair had chosen to ignore was that they weren’t directly invited to go join the pair. so, Hinata ran to go find Kageyama—who had been in the library, still researching the sea dwellers—, and now they were off to the dormitories. 

the sea dwellers’ dormitories were right underneath where the land dwellers’ dormitories were above ground, so the river that coursed through the campus flowed all the way towards the dormitories. interestingly enough, the VAMΠ house was also close to the dormitories, and Kageyama and Hinata both could hear the ear-blasting music coming from the modern-looking house. to them, it was slightly loud. no doubt was the house shaking on its foundation with that kind of volume. 

Hinata twists his head to watch the house, seeing red colored lights flash in a pattern under the moonlight. it was eight pm already, the moon was up high. 

“do you think when you’re a sophomore, you’ll join phi lambda?” Hinata asks Kageyama, kicking a rock out of his way. it goes skidding into the river, but it was soon tossed out by a passing rippling form underwater. Hinata picks up, feeling the cool water on it before hearing Kageyama answer. 

“no.”

Hinata visibly winces at the monotone answer. Kageyama was the king of monotone answers. Hinata could yell at him for an hour, and his only response would be ‘fine’ at the end. Hinata falls back into step next to Kageyama, “why?” he looks up with a frown and puppy eyes.

“well, the sirens are aligned with the vampires, right? if i was in phi lambda, i wouldn’t be able to see you that much and call you dumbass and all that shit. it’s nice to have someone that’s dumber than me,” Kageyama replies, no hint of sarcasm in his voice. Hinata was visibly touched in the beginning, but that happy feeling melted away as his intelligence was brought up. 

“hey!! i got a better math grade than you yesterday, i’m not dumber than you!!”

“you’re the dumbest.”

“you’re the dumbester!”

“dumbass, that’s not a word,” Kageyama rolls his eyes. Hinata deflates, his grip on the rock loosening. it falls back down and bounces into the moving river. Hinata stops to watch it go and disappear as it sinks. after it didn’t return, he sighs. Kageyama watches the werewolf with a raised eyebrow from where he stood a few steps ahead of him. 

“i really liked that rock, it was smooth. i was going to give it to Noya,” Hinata sighs. 

“oh, Noya? you know Noya?”

Hinata jumps back, scared half to death at hearing a new voice. Kageyama steps ahead, Hinata slipping behind the tall siren instinctively. a laugh comes from the river—wait, the river? 

Kageyama narrows his eyes, staring at the head that was peeking out of the water. the water parted to flow around the head, but the figure moves to rise up to his collarbone. the figure had nicely tanned skin, almond colored eyes and a blond hairdo with a undercut. the blond locks were dripping with water, falling down on the figure’s shoulders. such shoulders were covered with golfball sized scars that looked like suction cups. 

the figure laughs again, and there’s a flash of silver. Hinata peers from out behind Kageyama, blinking at the figure. “you don’t think i’m going to bite you, huh, carrot top? you do look like of tasty though..” the figure begins before smiling. his teeth were triangles. 

Kageyama throws a hand in front of Hinata’s body, shielding him from this man. “don’t even try it, you sea slug,” Kageyama insults the sea dweller. if he was offended by the slur, the figure didn’t show it. instead, he just smiled again. 

“no need to throw mean words, my dear siren, i’m only kidding,” the figure teases. Kageyama falters, and Hinata furrows his eyebrows at the figure. “your scent is absolutely retched, by the way. where have you been, the sewer? please take a shower,” the sea dweller waves a hand by his nose as he cackles. 

more heads begin to break the surface as the figure continued to captivate the two freshmen, but they weren’t looking towards Kageyama and Hinata. instead, they were looking towards the VAMΠ house with intent. Kageyama was focusing solely on mr undercut, but Hinata’s eyes were darting between all of the heads. he counted ten, minimum.

“c’mon, Teru! we gotta go party!” a female voice jeers from one of the heads, and she’s back up by several cheers. the figure seemed to respond to the name. he salutes Kageyama and Hinata with two fingers up to his forehead. 

“we’ll meet again, freshmen,” Terushima grins before he begins to rise out of the water—by a tail. 

it was magnificent to even lay eyes on. it was an ombré that started out as a dandelion yellow, but as the tail curled and slowly.. disappeared into a yellow mist, it turned into a lime color and finally into a rich green. small, dime sized scales covered the enormous thing, shining from the moonlight that poured over it. it perfectly reflected the light thanks to river water that still dripped from it. 

there was a splash from a mess of tail fins that looked like layers upon layers of glistening seaweed. the seaweed ranged in green and blue tones, thin but flexible at the same time. when the end of the tail surfaced, the tail fins flap up from an invisible wing of sorts before slamming back down on the water, creating the last splash. it was, at least, a ten-foot-tall splash as the entire spectral ceased. 

when all the water fell down, Terushima was standing on the opposite side of the riverbank, a solid five foot nine of divine power. his clothed back was towards the two freshmen. against his hip, Terushima held a decorative jug that had black ink stained on it in shapes and pictures. it was a bronze color with one circular handle that Terushima held onto tightly, as if it was his lifeline. 

Kageyama’s eyes bugled. 

*”you’ll know when you see it~”*

Oikawa’s words, sung, echoed in his mind. Hinata’s jaw had dropped all the way to the ground as he watched, entranced in the same awe that Kageyama was in. his entirety vibrated with tamed excitement. 

Terushima turns away from the VAMΠ house, facing the pair. he pulls something from the jacket he wore, which was miraculously dry. it was a mess of multiple vibrant colors. purple, red, yellow, orange, blue, green, pink, white, everything. he tosses it from a semi-scaled hand, and Hinata reaches out to catch the rock he had dropped just before Terushima had surfaced. staring down at it with unadulterated awe, Hinata looks back up to see Terushima wink towards him. 

Terushima smirks at the two as he began to walk backwards, finally turning away to lead the group of sea dwellers that began to surface behind Terushima. their exits from water weren’t as extravagant as Terushima’s, but their transformations left them with an entirely human appearance. they had less scales than Terushima did too, but each of their individual scale colors were unique. they all wore the same dry jackets that Terushima did. 

a large black ΣΕΑ was on the back of the jackets. 

sigma epsilon alpha, the joint fraternity-sorority of the sea dwellers. 

Hinata looks down at his rock again as Kageyama still stared after the ΣΕΑ. there was a tall man with brunet hair tied back in a ponytail. he had sparkling, dark and light purple scales. 

another was a woman with a brown bob; her scales were a bright orange. 

there was another woman with blond hair pulled back in a high ponytail with pastel blue scales. the two land dwellers recognized her—that was their friend, Yachi. she didn’t wear a jacket, but her outfit was still colorful. maybe it was a squad ideology to be as flashy as possible. 

another brunet man with seaweed green scales. 

a short man almost as tall as Nishinoya with white hair that stuck up like feathers; his scales were a striking electric blue. 

Kageyama lost track from how much they bounced and moved around, blending into a mess of rainbow colors. 

“oh my gods,” Kageyama whispers, staring after the group. they disappeared into the VAMΠ house without a look back, and a chorus of shouting erupts loud enough for the pair to even hear. “there’s- there’s-“

“hey, uhm, Kageyama? do you think Noya will be upset if i hold onto this rock?” Hinata’s voice breaks his train of thought. “i think i want to keep it.. for myself,” a glint of possessiveness passes through Hinata’s eyes. Kageyama bites the inside of his lower lip before nodding. he reaches towards Hinata’s hand to drag his index finger over the rock for himself. Hinata’s fingers curl around it, but when Kageyama pulled away, the fingers fell back. 

“yeah. i think he’d understand,” Kageyama murmurs quietly, staring at the small, thin and oddly smooth rock in Hinata’s palm. 

it was dry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe.   
> yeah, i know that Terushima is not a popular character at all, and all that the fandom reduced him to is a playboy, but he has so much potential. i already knew ahead of placing him as a potamos that he would fit as a sea dwellers because of his playfulness and curiosity. the reason i took the extra step was because he’s also a beacon of such emotions; other beacons were already classified. Terushima was left, and I couldn’t help not adding my favorite character.  
> oops.  
> the vampi party is in the next update, so watch out for that. cross-class interactions, we love it.   
> don’t forget to wear a mask, and stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update is September 2nd.  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

as all fraternities and sororities did, they threw parties. some were lowkey, some were crazy and some were in the middle. sometimes there was alcohol, but most drugs were outlawed by the head of student life. sometimes there was fighting, but swift punishments were easily dealt out if it came to that, and on a friday night, three weeks into the new school year, nobody wanted to end up in solitary detention on a saturday morning. 

so, the party at the VAMΠ stayed lowkey. there was a bit of alcohol, but most of it was just bud light that someone had grabbed from the local convenience store. the store was run by Ukai Jr’s mother, who was a lycan, so she was used to myth folk coming in frequently. it wasn’t a bother for her. sometimes she’d even bake cookies for the students that came in. 

a fire was roaring by the time the clock struck ten pm. the vampires had provided marshmallows, but no sticks to roast them with. the sticks typically used for roasting marshmallows were a hazard for vampiric kind. instead, they had to break off some twigs from a few nearby birch trees. they also had graham crackers and chocolate, everything one needed to make piping hot s’mores. 

as it turned darker, the INΔ didn’t show up, but a few unaffiliated nagas did. most species didn’t have a problem with each other if they weren’t affiliated with houses, save the vampiric and lycanthropic rivalry; some things simply can’t be helped. 

“maaaan, my chocolate!”

one such naga was Tanaka, a junior. he had friends from all different species and didn’t abide by the usual, anti-social naga protocol. he was, by all means, a social butterfly. his long, thin tail was a musty brown and red color, striped. he was seated next to Kita, who was handing Tanaka another piece of chocolate. 

Tanaka accepts the piece with a cackling laugh, pulling his burnt-to-a-crisp marshmallow back towards him and smushing it between his graham crackers and chocolate. “yummy,” Tanaka purrs, downing the s’more within one bite after he unhinged his jaw. all nagas were capable of that to some extent, but Kita still had to look away from the unsettling sight. 

turning his attention to the vampire who was sitting up against his flank and tucked under a wing, Kita watched Ojiro juggle three twigs. behind him, the Miya twins were doing shotguns with Oikawa and Sugawara with white claws. Ojiro was making s’mores for the two twins and himself, being that the pair were too focused on beating the two sirens to make them for themselves. 

“i don’t know how you’re still so generous to them, Aran,” Kita rotates his own marshmallow over the open flame. he could see the silhouettes of hands from the sea dwellers, curiously reaching out to touch the fire. most of them have rarely, if every, been up to the surface and fire was a mysterious concept to them. the griffin smiles softly at their curiosity, pulling his marshmallow back after it turned a nice golden brown. 

Ojiro shrugs, shifting on the grass so he could lean against Kita’s shoulder a bit more and not against his flank. he didn’t make a move to push away the wing blanket. “i sucked and saved them, practically raised them for what, a hundred and one years now? how the time flies when you have two teenagers to watch after,” he laughs. Kita’s body vibrates with a purr of amusement. 

while Kita was putting together his own s’more, Ojiro was getting the graham crackers and the chocolate ready. Atsumu didn’t like chocolate, so he just added the extra slab of hershey’s chocolate to Osamu’s. pulling in the marshmallows, Ojiro puts together the three s’mores just as Kita was taking a bite into his. the griffin passes Tanaka three more marshmallows from where the marshmallow bag laid in front of him. the naga snickers evilly, impaling the marshmallows before putting them over the open fire to roast them to ashes. 

Ojiro looks over Kita’s back to see Osamu throwing his can at Atsumu. sighing, Ojiro stands up and walks over to where the two began to fight. Oikawa and Sugawara were no help, still laughing hysterically after watching Atsumu’s half-full can hit Osamu’s forehead and alcohol had splashed over his face. 

Kita fixes his position, flapping his wings slightly as he waits for Ojiro’s source of warmth to return. it wasn’t long until Ojiro started to chastise his boys, and Kita couldn’t help but chuckle. 

on the other side of the VAMΠ house’s backyard, Kuroo was still with Iwaizumi. Yaku was leaning against the arm on Kuroo’s chair, his back paws still on the ground as his front paws rested on the chair arm. 

the three had a steady supply of s’mores, stacked by the threes by Kyoutani. the burly vampire loved fire with his soul, something his boyfriend didn’t understand at all. said boyfriend was perched on a fold-up table between Kuroo and Iwaizumi’s chairs, watching Kyoutani continue his little quest to make as much s’mores as humanly possible, all while shoveling marshmallows into his mouth. 

Iwaizumi laughs when Kyoutani tosses his burnt twig at Kuroo, grumbling something incoherently thanks to the marshmallow in his mouth. Kuroo snickers, putting the twig on the fold-up table. Terushima grabs it, looking it over with interest. he taps at the burnt part, his eyebrows raising when his finger comes away ashy. “fire is so amazing,” he gaps, rubbing the ash onto his thumb. 

Kyoutani had disappeared to go find something to wash his marshmallows down. Iwaizumi smiles at Terushima’s childish awe while Yaku reaches out to take the twig for him. he digs the burnt end of it into the grass, hearing a few sizzles before he brings it up to Terushima. the burnt parts of it were gone and the stick was shorter, and now the stub was just dirty. Terushima takes it, rolling it around in his hands. 

Kuroo throws his head back with a bout of his hyena laugh at Terushima, calming down when Terushima glares at him. “i rarely see ash nowadays, leave me be,” the potamos huffs indignantly, using a sharp and curved, lime-colored blade that jutted out from his wrist to break open the twig. he was seated indian style on the table, the jug he was holding earlier nestled in his lap. it was an amphora jug, with patterns circling around in spirals around a band of inked images. 

Yaku was easily able to drown out Kuroo and Terushima’s meaningless banter. up close, Yaku’s perceptive eyes could see the amount of detail that went into the decorative ink murals. it seemed to tell a story, but Yaku knew none of it. he could only see the side that was facing him, too. 

the first scene seemed to be of Terushima, holding up his hands to what was probably clouds. the figure was blocky and greek-styled, with only a profile of his face. the sharp nose and the rebellious hair cut gave it away, though. there was a large smile on his face, and below him was his long, circling tail that Yaku had only seen once in person. 

above him, the clouds had specks of black ink falling from them, collecting a ways further from the ink Terushima and turning into a river.

in the river, it showed unnamed people jumping and splashing, smiles painted onto their face. they looked to be celebrating the return of the river, dancing and shouting and rejoicing. some had tails, some had scales, some had feet. they were all celebrating for the same purpose, Yaku could tell, when he saw the happy expressions on their faces. 

even with no sound, the steady beat of distant drums roared in Yaku’s ears as he watched the river soon turn into a whirlpool. a raging sea, where a colossal creature had its upper body out of the water. a single, long tail was poised above the angry waves, neatly detailed circles on the inside of the tentacle-like tail. 

a small figure of a man stood on a column of water in front of the creature. one of his arms was raised, an arm of water growing from the sea to meet its master’s command. it looked like a battle scene, but when Yaku’s eyes flit over to see the next part of the story, it was over. 

Yaku looks to the right to continue the visual story, but all he saw was Terushima’s multicolored jacket arm. it was a rude awakening from the copper and ebony story he had been looking at for the past two minutes or so. that was all he could see from his spot. Yaku sighs to himself, wanting to know more of that jug’s story. a griffin was polite though, so he wouldn’t take more than what he was given until Terushima gave it to him. 

Yaku rests his cheek on a fist, sighing softly as Kuroo pulled Iwaizumi into an argument over whether s’mores were better with or without chocolate. he receives a small pat on one of his forepaws from Kuroo absentmindedly. Yaku exhales through his nose, inhaling afterwards. 

he chokes on the scent though, his head swiveling around as a swirling picture of whoever’s scent it was formed inside of his mind’s eye. big, bulky, and.. garlicy?

“Kuroo, the italian siren didn’t bring over any garlic, right?” Yaku asks, speaking of a transfer student. Kuroo did a triple take at the question, his argument forgotten. 

“uh, no, it’s illegal on school grounds for a reason. why?” Kuroo asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Iwaizumi’s eyes gloss over with wariness, and he stands up to sniff the air. vampires had an outstanding scent of smell, but it wasn’t as good as a lycanthrope’s. griffins were third in the smelling rank. 

“i don’t.. wait,” Iwaizumi began, getting a whiff of what Yaku was smelling too. “it’s faint, not close but, it’s garlic all right.”

Kuroo scowls to himself, standing up and facing Terushima. “don’t burn yourself,” he gestures to the open fire, where a few sea dwellers were being treated by two sophomore griffins for burns on their hands. “and stay here,” he adds, catching smell of the garlic himself. he coughs. 

Terushima nods, one of his arms wrapping around his jug subconsciously. he flashes a thumbs up at the vampire, who looks to go find Ojiro. Yaku runs to catch up with him, flapping his wings a few times to give him a boost forward. Kuroo gives a signal to a junior vampire to cut the fire, continuing to the area where Ojiro was. 

Ojiro was back up against Kita, the Miya twins scarfing down their s’mores hungrily. Oikawa and Sugawara had since disappeared, so Atsumu was now bouncing around to different people in the backyard while Osamu sat near Tanaka, both of them arguing about the perfect s’more. 

Ojiro looks up when Yaku bounds over to Kita, Kuroo closes behind. Kuroo squats down in front of Ojiro, saying something about getting everyone inside and closing the party for the night. Ojiro looked worried at first; Kuroo loved parties as much as the next guy. it wasn’t unlike him to draw it before midnight. 

“there’s garlic somewhere. someone might’ve brought it as a joke,” Kuroo explains quickly in a hushed tone, fixing his squat around. Ojiro’s mouth curves into an ‘o’ and Kita stands up on his paws behind the african vampire. Kuroo reaches out a hand for Ojiro to pull himself up with. finally, Kuroo turns around to address everyone gathered. 

“hey, everybody,” he calls, his loud voice carrying through the backyard. “sorry about this, but us vampires are gonna shut down the party. it’s kind of getting late,” Kuroo tries the weak excuse. a sophomore sea dweller looked to be in tears at the simple words, mumbling something about this being his first land party. 

Kuroo winces at the sight, but he speaks again: “again, sor-“

Yaku sniffs the air once again just as Kuroo was speaking, trying to see if he could find a body to go with the scent’s picture. big, bulky, and garlicy. the scent passes through his nostrils, circling in his mind once more before Yaku’s eyes fly open.

wolf.

“Kuroo, move!” Yaku cuts him off, flinging his wings out to their full wingspan as he shields Kuroo’s front. something jumps from above; it came from the roof of the VAMΠ house, and it landed in the nearest tree. it dropped something—directly over a fire that the junior vampire had not put out because he didn’t understand why it had to go. 

the garlic buds fall down into the roaring flame, and it erupts higher than before, angrily licking at the oxygen in the air. it glows a roaring mix of warm colors as the putrid scent of garlic fills the air space. 

garlic does not result in the immediate death of a vampire, but if exposed to the scent or the toxins for a long amount of time, either by inhalation or consumption, it can lead to death. it’s the very reason why garlic is rarely used in myth folk-friendly restaurants; if a vampire were to be exposed to the garlic, it would react just as a toxic chemical would when a human consumed it—erratically and harmfully.

Osamu chokes on his s’more, eyes watering. Tanaka’s own eyes, unaffected, widen at the sight, as he began to wave the end of his tail around in a circle movement as he helps Osamu out of the area. the other vampires’ eyes were watering too, and some of them were having allergic reactions to it. splotches of red hives broke out on their faces just from the exposure of garlic, an airborne vampire repellent that was supposed to be banned from campus, but obviously, someone—a lycanthrope—, had ignored the rule. 

the handful of griffins that attended were helping Tanaka, using their wings to beat the toxic air out of the backyard and into the sky. a few bats that were flying around, playing tag, drop down and morph into human form to suffer from fits of coughing and blurry eyes. sirens and the few nagas attending helped the vampires inside. 

the sea dwellers were confused, acting unfazed by the events. in fact, they were back at waving their hands over the rebirthed fire. only Terushima and one of his companions didn’t join in; the tall, daunting-looking man with his hair in a bun and the purple scales that Hinata and Kageyama had seen. 

“i think we should go, Terushima,” Azumane sighs anxiously, looking down at the potamos as he tears his eyes away from the griffins. almost all of the vampires were inside by now, the stragglers making their way to the house’s back doors now. Kuroo and Ojiro had disappeared, and Terushima really wanted to give Kuroo a proper goodbye. 

Terushima sighs alongside Azumane, but doesn’t refute the common sense the latter had. he wouldn’t lie; the scent of burning garlic was nasty. he had never liked rome. 

“alrighty, then guys! move out!” he shouts to his band of sea dwellers. reluctantly, the sea dwellers pulled themselves and their friends away from the fire. they left through the opened gate in the fence that ran around the perimeter of the house’s plot, leaving nothing to trace back to their presence but a partially-severed stick, still on a fold-up table. 

one by one, the griffins took to the skies to try and find whatever lycanthrope had committed the crime. if caught, they’d be dealing with their own punishments given by Ukai Jr and Washijou bright and early tomorrow morning. Yaku waves goodbye and good luck to Kita, who joins the search squad. the former stayed behind, watching the scented fire calm down until its original size. 

the small griffin’s shoulders cave in slightly as he frowns. he looks around the backyard, his eyes passing over a glinting object before they zoom right back to it. there, on the fold-up table next the half severed stick. 

the amphora jug. 

Yaku panics, running over to the table and taking the jug into his hands. Terushima can’t forget this! this is his! shit. where did Terushima go? 

looking around wildly with the jug in his hands, there was a sense of heat coming from inside of it. it seeped through the ceramic cast of the jug, through the decorative ink that Yaku was too panicked to look at further, and into his hands. the heat was calming and consistent, not wavering the slightest. just a steady source of warmth. 

“hey! uh, Yaku, dude! thanks for finding my jug!” Yaku looks up suddenly, seeing Terushima racing back into the yard. Yaku looks between the jug before holding it out to Terushima, making sure he held it firmly so it didn’t accidentally fall. Terushima was panting softly when he reached Yaku, but he did hurdle over a lawn chair to reach the griffin. the potamos takes back the jug, holding it up to his ear as if it was whispering something. 

Yaku stares at the man with confusion, but Terushima drops the jug down to his hip a second later. he bows his head, his hair falling forward. “thank you again!” he straightens upright again, his crooked smile appearing on his face. turning around, Terushima makes his way towards the gate. Azumane stood there, waiting for his friend like an obedient dog. 

Yaku reaches after the man, wanting to say something, but he drops it. Terushima looks his shoulder, seeing the hand drop and he raises an eyebrow. Yaku struggles to find his words, his eyes darting to the jug in his hands. Terushima’s smirk shows itself, and stops at the gate with a twinkle in his almond eyes. 

“her name was Levia.”

with that, Terushima disappeared out of Yaku’s view, Azumane following. Yaku stares after the sea dwellers, left with so many questions and only one answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo.  
> and yeah, my selfish ass had to include TeruKyou. don’t @ me, thanks.   
> hope you’re enjoying this, cause i am >:))  
> anyway.. stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update is September 6th.  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

when the following monday rolled around, the perpetrator still hadn’t been apprehended yet. 

the surveillance feed from the security cameras on the VAMΠ house had been reviewed several times by not just the school’s faculty, but by a few detectives that had been brought in after one vampire had to be transferred to the nearest mythical hospital for lethal garlic inhalation. he was alright after spending the weekend in the hospital, but needed to go on a ventilator for a few hours to breathe properly. 

all that the video showed was a figure dressed in dark colors with black hair.. fur. it looked like and was eventually confirmed to be a lycanthrope, but since there was no full moon friday night, the only choice left was a lycan. the school has since been running interrogations with every lycan enrolled. lycans weren’t very common, not as common as werewolves at least, so the process was short with no leads or even clues. 

both the lycanthrope fraternity and sorority houses had been searched thoroughly by detectives. there was no smell of garlic, but there was a very strong fragrance of body freshener in the fraternity. the detectives were suspicious, but with no evidence to further their investigation and the general idea that men used body freshener like women used makeup—religiously—, they left the university by early sunday with pamphlets on how to treat garlic inhalation and a direct line to the mythical hospital. they were unable to do anything else. 

as the students returned to school on monday, tensions between the vampires and the lycanthropes couldn’t be anymore high. word had spread like wildfire through the university’s dormitories. the weekend allowed for emotions to mix, simmer, and boil over until the cauldron bubbled and spilt monday morning. 

these tensions were not limited to fraternities and sororities, unfortunately. 

an affiliated werewolf, an unaffiliated werewolf and two vampires were sent to detention for a physical fight that broke out in a history class. a trio of unaffiliated vampires were suspended for two days after they forcefully shaved off a section of a sleeping werewolf’s hair. a lycan, unaffiliated, found her locker’s door ripped off of its hinges, thrown down the hallway and messily spray painted red. inside of the locker was a note that read “VAMPIRE KILLER” in red paint marker. 

the nagas and the sirens were growing restless too. it was known that the sirens typically sided with the vampires while the nagas stuck with the lycanthropes. even though their actions weren’t as destructive or drastic as the vampiric and lycanthropic ones, they were still there—and prominent, too. 

on the daily, the sirens would gather to sing in the amphitheater at noon, during their lunch period. it was a tradition that had began way back in the eighteen hundreds, but for three days, the sirens refused to sing. they performed a silent sit-in, even rejecting the idea of speaking english and resorting to siren screech instead. it got to the point that the headmaster was worried they were cursing out other students or faculty, and he had to bring in a siren teacher to translate. 

the nagas themselves, who had jointedly been hitting their shedding season, collected all of their skins and created a massive bonfire just outside of the school gates. nagas who live together or near each other entered their shedding season around the same time, and going on sunday night, most nagas were done. 

shedding was a symbolic rite in naga culture, which has blossomed off of buddhism in india during the bc times. it symbolized rebirth and called for celebration the few times a year grown nagas shed. all of the skins were then buried in shallow graves because of the original thought of reincarnation. they believed that the skins would help nature thrive ever so longer until the next shedding season. 

the image of burning naga skins was outright horrifying. the crinkling and cracking of the skins carried through the silent fall night as sparks flew up into the dark sky. what was worse was that Washijou himself was seen tossing in his own skin, joining in the silent protest after learning the detectives found nothing, not even a possible suspect. 

the griffins were caught in the middle, but refused to show any form of protest. they were supposed to be the neutral species on campus, never taking sides. they were supposed to be everyone’s ally and nobody’s enemy. it became painfully obvious as school returned to session on monday that the griffins were staying out of the fiasco. not everyone was happy with that. 

Ushijima holds an ice pack to his cheek, lounging on a floor bed in the hospital wing. next to him was a sleeping naga with a green jacket tied around his waist, red hair dampened with syrup and sprinkled with, well, sprinkles after a foul play by a siren student in Tendou’s class. Tendou’s head was on Ushijima’s flank, using the griffin as a makeshift pillow. the griffin’s wing on that side was covering Tendou like a blanket. the naga’s tail was a vibrant red with large, tennis ball-sized scales that matched his hair color.

Kita was lounging on the cool, tile floor next to Ushijima, playing with his fingers and occasionally rubbing the toes that were missing talons on his right forepaw. he kept sneaking glances at Ushijima, making sure his friend was as comfortable as he could be. 

Ushijima sighs as the hospital wing opens, his tail now drooping from where it was twitching upright behind him. Washijou slithers in with Sawamura close on his heels, the large griffin scrambling to reach Ushijima and Kita. Washijou recognizes Tendou easily by just the hair, but he scowls at the disgusting mess of it. his rattle shakes with anger, his tongue tasting the air. 

Sawamura frowns at Ushijima’s state, who only looked back with a neutral expression. Sawamura pulls on Kita’s forearm lightly, gesturing towards the door before changing to point at the rattling Washijou. Kita showed respect to the dean with a bow of his head, pushing himself up to his paws before waving goodbye to Ushijima. Ushijima waves back before his hand returns to Tendou’s shoulder, watching his two frat brothers exit. 

when Washijou hears the door click close, he coils his tail up before resuming his natural slouch as he looks at Ushijima. his forked tongue darts out to taste the air before it’s pulled back through his lips. “what happened, my boy?” he asks slowly, his eyes flitting between the icepack, Ushijima’s face, and Tendou. 

Ushijima’s wings bristle uncomfortably. “it was a vampire,” he says right out of the gate. “sophomore. i didn’t get a good look before he threw a book at me,” Ushijima explains shortly. “i should have moved,” he adds before pausing. he continues, “but there was a freshman behind me, and i would’ve rather myself get hurt minimally than her.”

Washijou holds back a roll of his eyes at Ushijima’s politeness, but the griffin couldn’t help it. he looks at Tendou, waiting for Ushijima to explain the sugary mess of the red hair. Ushijima pats Tendou’s shoulder lightly as the naga hums in his sleep. Tendou’s chin moves up to rest comfortable higher on Ushijima’s thigh, exhaling through his nose in peace. 

“he went to his major’s class and a siren surprised him,” was all Ushijima gave. Washijou makes mental note to check the sirens in Tendou’s major. the rumors were true, Washijou did have soft spots for all of the naga students, and while Tendou was very.. out there and eccentric, alike Tanaka in some aspects, he was still a naga. 

Washijou hangs his head, in thought. Ushijima waits for the elder to think, using this time to keep patting Tendou’s shoulder. the two had been friends ever since freshmen year, when Tendou got lost his first day and wound up in the wrong classroom, a class that Ushijima was in. not caring, Tendou had coiled up right next to Ushijima, who had a different area to sit in because he was a griffin. Ushiiima was mighty confused, but let Tendou stay for the class regardless. 

“i do hope this chaossss endssss ssssoon,” Washijou hisses, furrowing his eyebrows before leaning upwards. “i don’t think Nekomata can take this much sssstressss for much longer. parentssss and guardianssss are growing wary,” he sighs, looking Ushijima dead in the eyes. 

“i’m sssso tired. i’ve taught here for decadessss. the idea of having a peacccceful ssssocceity seems faker with every person that comessss into my officccce.”

•••

the only species not affected by this sudden spike in tensions were the sea dwellers. because they rarely went up to the surface during daylight, they didn’t see of any of the fighting, or the cruel jokes, or the bullying. all they heard from their teachers underwater was that there was some problems above, and it was discouraged from surfacing until things were sorted out. 

unfortunately, it is by water’s nature that it is curious. hence, the sea dwellers were too. 

two men in particular were daring enough to crawl out of the water during the school day. they both had a free spot in their day at the same time, and after a bit of begging from the shorter of the duo, the two were walking around without their jackets on. they didn’t want any land dwelling-professors spotting them with their florescent jackets and sending them back underwater. 

Azumane shivers in the fall breeze, a tall beacon in a sea of vampires. his companion was too short to see over anyone, so now Hoshiumi was riding on Azumane’s shoulders. walking around with as much grace as an elephant, Azumane was barely able to avoid bumping into every vampire he saw. it helped that Azumane looked like a buff, force-to-be-reckoned-with guy, or there would probably be a lot of glares being sent towards the poor man. 

Hoshiumi pulls on Azumane’s hair to get his attention, pointing towards a clearing. “over there, Asahi! c’mon!” he commands, his short, covered legs kicking. they were trying to cover up their scales as much as possible by wearing pants and long sleeve shirts, but the electric blue scales on Hoshiumi’s right cheek and the purple ones on Azumane’s hands were a dead give away up close. 

“shouldn’t we go find, i don’t know, someone we know? like Noya? i want to know why everyone looks so.. angry..” Azumane gulps, his silky hair down from its normal bun. he only wore his headband. he was trying to avert any eyes that looked his way as he looks around. sure enough, most of the surrounding vampires weren’t wearing smiles. in fact, the majority were frowning or even scowling. 

Hoshiumi shrugs, dismissing Azumane’s anxiety offhandedly. “land dwellers are uptight to begin with. but~, it’s okay, we’ll be safe, i promise you!” Hoshiumi laughs loudly, patting Azumane’s long, dry hair like an easily-pleased toddler. 

“also, if you’re not going to walk any faster, put me down!” Azumane didn’t need to be told twice, swiftly grappling Hoshiumi by the waist and lifting the short sea dweller over his head. Hoshiumi runs ahead of Azumane, weaving through the crowd as Azumane struggled to keep up. 

breaking out of the vampire area, the two sea dwellers were by the bridge that Bokuto and Daishou had crossed on friday. they were on the other side, though, and if Hoshiumi and Azumane remembered Nishinoya’s last nighttime tour correctly, the lycanthropes were on the other side of the bridge. 

Hoshiumi’s eyes light up with recognition, seeing the bridge that students were crowded up on. “Asahi! there’s the bridge! Noya’s just over there! he’ll explain what’s happening, just like you wanted!” he exclaims, back pedaling as he moves towards the bridge. Azumane pants, keeping up with his fellow sea dweller with a slow jog that soon turned into a walk when Hoshiumi slowed down. there was a collecting crowd of students on the bridge, and Azumane didn’t understand why they weren’t moving. 

“aren’t bridges not supposed to be uh.. jammed?” Azumane whispers to Hoshiumi as he ducks down to his level. Hoshiumi’s large eyes were filled with determination as he faced the crowd, knowing he could and would get through the traffic jam. Azumane sighs, knowing that look all too well that was signature to his best friend. “don’t run off, please,” Azumane pleads, walking behind Hoshiumi. 

“move out of the way, giants!” the sea dweller bellows, rudely pushing past students. he blatantly ignored Azumane’s plea, said man now apologizing tenfold to each student that was pushed. Hoshiumi’s look of determination didn’t waive. 

“didn’t your mother clam ever teach you manners?” Azumane frets, stopping as Hoshiumi struggled to get past a rock of a student. Hoshiumi didn’t look back at Azumane, but he laughed at the question.

“manners? what are- oh.”

“don’t you mean those-“ Azumane attempted to quote one of Hoshiumi’s favorite lines on himself before biting his tongue forcefully to stop speaking. Hoshiumi had squeezed past the last person blocking his way to see what scene was unfolding on the bridge. Azumane’s face turned as pale as snow at the sight, but his reflexes weren’t fast enough to grab Hoshiumi before the sea dweller stepped forward. 

“hey, you! put that woman down!” Hoshiumi barks, lifting up his chin to give him a more frightening look. it was kind of hard to make him seem any sort of frightening, though, given that Hoshiumi was five foot eight and now addressing a six foot plus vampire. 

the vampire was holding a werewolf over the bridge’s edge by the collar of her sorority vest. it didn’t look like a fair fight to begin with, the woman couldn’t be more than five foot seven while the vampire was well over six foot. both looked over to look at Hoshiumi after hearing his address, as did the majority of the crowd. the vampire raises an eyebrow in the sea dweller’s direction. Hoshiumi instantly hated the man with the underwhelmed reaction he showed, simply adding to the things he despises about the scene commencing on the bridge. his left eye twitches. 

“yeah, you! let her go! what did she do to you?!” Hoshiumi continues to confront the man. the vampire chuckles from the back of his throat, a hyena-like sound that Azumane knew too well. 

“Kourai, please, don’t-“ Azumane whispers from his spot in the crowd, but his voice was lost in Kuroo’s laughter. Kuroo pulls the werewolf back over the edge, dropping her onto the ground. she landed on her rear. another woman pulls her to safety, swiftly chauffeuring her away from the scene as Kuroo turned to face Hoshiumi. the recognition didn’t click for either of them yet.

“she,” Kuroo gesticulates to where the woman just was. “and all of her kind,” he widens his arms out to the crowd around him. “are out to kill mine!” mouth contorted into a outraged snarl, he brings his hands in towards his chest as he publicly accuses the lycanthrope population on campus, as well as further. a mixture of boos and cheers rises from the crowd, and a few particularly furious lycanthropes are held back by friends or bystanders. 

Hoshiumi furrows his eyebrows, confused. “why would you want to kill each other?”

unlike the land dwellers, all of sea dweller kind got along rather well. there were really fights between species of sea dwellers, and if there were any fights, it was against marine life or a rogue crazy man that was easily dealt with. so, Hoshiumi and Azumane couldn’t even begin to fathom as to why this vampire was torturing the werewolf.. all they knew is that it seemed wrong.

Kuroo laughs as if what Hoshiumi said was the world’s greatest joke, his signature hyena laugh confirming Azumane’s worst nightmare. if Terushima found out about this, Azumane would be banished! he’d be outcasted, publicly humiliated! he’d be kicked out of ΣΕΑ and thrusted into a life of solidarity, and what would be worse is that he’d have to spend it all with Hoshiumi!-

“no, uh, really. killing was so last century,” Hoshiumi’s neck juts forward like a seagull as he strikes a sarcastic pose. “we’re in the twenty first century.. i think? or did i get my dates wrong again,” Hoshiumi brings his index finger and thumb to his chin in thought before shaking his head. 

his hand drops, clenching in a fist at his side. “no biggie! my point is, you can’t go around terrorizing people who maybe want to kill you! i have at least fifteen people who have their name on my hit list and i’m not swinging punches!” Azumane could practically hear the unsaid word that Hoshiumi left out. 

yet.

Kuroo‘s amber eyes bore deep into Hoshiumi’s soul through the sea dweller’s large eyes, which were filled with confidence. Kuroo’s gaze darts down to his cheek, seeing the patch of scales there. Kuroo then grins like a maniac before beginning to approach the sea dweller. 

“and who says i can’t?”

“me, Kuroo.”

Hoshiumi growls in a deep, threatening voice. Kuroo turns around, his grin faltering slightly at the change in voice. he, and most of the crowd who followed his action, half expected Terushima to rise out of the water like some heroic vigilante. after there was no show of great divinity, Kuroo and the crowd return their focus back to Hoshiumi. the vampire’s grin was back in full power on his face. 

“you and what army, Hoshiumi?” Kuroo drawls, ignoring the burning stares he was receiving from griffins that circled above like vultures, ready to fall down and clear the area if anything violent happened. 

Azumane pales visibly as he watches Hoshiumi smile. don’t do it, don’t do it, i don’t want to be a hermit my last year of university-

Hoshiumi’s smile was unnerving to witness on full display. while Terushima’s teeth were all triangles and the land dwellers all had their own three types of teeth, Hoshiumi’s mouth was filled with long and thin canines that were as tough as nails. and.. they felt like nails. Hoshiumi was no ordinary sea dweller; he was a grindylow, a subclass of merfolk. 

and Hoshiumi purely smiled, bittersweet. “i need no army. i *am* an army.”

Kuroo’s grinning face crumbles into horror at the sight, but he was too slow to react. Hoshiumi used his feet in place of seven, short tails he usually had in water, to propel himself with a large drop right at Kuroo’s face with his mouth opened. someone screamed; the griffins dived, and Kuroo raises his arm. 

a griffin bats Hoshiumi’s off of Kuroo’s arm with a forepaw, but the grindylow took a chunk of Kuroo’s flesh with them. thick blood seeped from the wound as Hoshiumi spit out of the torn flesh, letting it land on the bridge with a dull thump. grinning, Hoshiumi salutes the charging griffin and the vampire, standing on the bridge’s railing, alike in what Terushima did to Hinata and Kageyama as more griffins worked to control the panicking crowd. 

“watch your back,” Hoshiumi promises before backflipping over the side of the bridge. students gathered on the riverbanks watch the white haired, blue scaled, slightly bloodied *thing* plummet into the water, landing with a splash and a small explosion of seven tentacles. heads began to rise out of the water, covering for their own. the screaming began as students ran away from the riverbanks, afraid they might suffer just as Kuroo did. 

Azumane was the only other two-legged person on the bridge besides Kuroo by the time the heads began to surface. he winces at Kuroo, who had gone deathly pale with horror as blood poured from his arm’s wound. “sorry!” Azumane cries, running past the griffin to plant a hand on the bridge’s side railing. he hurdles it with ease, flipping mid-air so his back would hit the water first. the last thing he saw of the surface was a diving, brown-winged griffin with dark eyes. 

he had a nice haircut, Azumane thinks, welcoming the tingly feeling as his tail returned. Azumane was a normal merman, his scales all ranging in an ombré of purple tones. his fin was like a dolphin’s, but had scales over it instead of flesh. his long sleeve shirt and pants were gone, his chest bare and his long hair floating up above his head.

it wasn’t a second too later did Azumane felt someone latch onto his back, and then another onto his arm. his chest, his head, for god’s sake. his tail. 

this is it, they’re going to strip me of my ΣΕΑ status and feed me to the kraken-

“**Asahi! Asahi, did you see that! i totally proved my point, and looked totally badass while doing it!**”

Hoshiumi swims into his vision, happily spinning around in his seven-tail glee. his white hair, once sticking up like seagull feathers, was now damp and gently waved like seaweed in the slow current. Azumane feels the other sea dwellers pull away from him, and it took a moment for Azumane to realize that they were hugging him. 

“**you two were so brave for going up in open daylight!**”

“**man, i wish i thought of that before!**”

“**you showed that vampire who’s boss!**”

“**did you see if the headmaster was there? was he proud?!**”

the underwater screeching filled Azumane’s ears, easily making sense of it all. the sea dwellers were slowly peeling away from Azumane, letting others see the duo. the merman’s own, albeit uneasy, smile began to appear on his face. seeing this, Hoshiumi rushes forward to hug Azumane’s neck. the pair spin slightly from the force of the hug, hair swishing in the water. “see, i told you we’d be safe!”

Azumane freezes up initially before hugging Hoshiumi back with a firm hold and a smile presses against Hoshiumi’s bare shoulder. “yeah, you did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where it begins to get interesting. hehe, i hope you all are ready.  
> stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update is September 12th.  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

“what are you here for?”

“a fight,” Kuroo spits out, cradling his wrapped up arm. he was sitting in a stiff, uncomfortable and itchy chair outside of a set of large, oak doors. another student was seated on a copy of his own chair next to him, reading a pamphlet from the coffee table between them on safe naga sex. the student wasn’t even a naga. Kuroo wrinkles his nose in disgust. “and you?”

the student, who smelt like siren to Kuroo, shrugged. “apparently saying that Washijou is a whore in siren screech isn’t allowed.”

Kuroo nods slowly and he looks away, his lips pressing together into a line as the atmosphere turned awkward. “and your name is?” he asks hesitantly, glancing at the siren from below his bed hair. the siren had shoulder length hair, a natural ravenet, but from the halfway point on his hair, everything below it was dyed blond. the dyed hair looked frayed and weak, Kuroo could only guess how many times it was dyed unprofessionally. it needed a new dying too. 

“Kozume,” the siren replies shortly, closing the pamphlet. Kuroo purses his lips. the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t put a finger to it. “i hang out in the library a lot.. and the computer lab,” Kozume adds, tucking a piece of his hair behind an ear. 

“you’re the student assistant in the computer lab, right?” Kuroo questions, resting his good arm across his knees as he leaned forward. Kozume nods but doesn’t verbally reply. 

Kuroo’s mouth pinches together on one side, but he doesn’t push the siren any further. he looked younger than himself, but then again, Kuroo was physically twenty-two. that was the age he was when he was sucked, that was the age he’d stay.

“Tetsurou Kuroo?” the headmaster’s secretary calls from a fishtank window that was up against the wall behind the two men. Kuroo looks back to see the secretary; Kozume raises an eyebrow silently. “headmaster Nekomata will see you now.”

Kuroo nods, standing up. he had gotten a sling from the nurse, something Kozume raises both of his eyebrows at. “i’ll see you around?” Kuroo asks the siren. Kozume doesn’t respond, his attention drifting to a new pamphlet on blood-doping and its consequences. the vampire lets the conversation die, walking to the set of doors and pushing it open with his good arm. 

Nekomata was never a flashy man. he reminded Kuroo of a humble missionary back when catholicism was spreading to southern and eastern asia. it made sense, since Nekomata temporarily did convert to catholicism before realizing half of their ideals went against vampiric ones. regardless, he still kept the simplistic lifestyle. 

his office, although it was large, was very dull in terms of decoration. it had a giant, cluttered oak desk Nekomata would spend his days sitting behind, dealing with paperwork or letters to foreign investors of the university or political figures who wanted to endorse it. daily letters to guardians or family of students who were misbehaving, suspended, sent to detention, et cetera. the bi-monthly newsletter, speaking of any events, alerts, or changes in regard to student life and administration. 

the head chair of an old gothic dining set that Nekomata especially loved. an old, rickety book shelf that Kuroo was sure had termites was stacked with random trinkets and ornaments from foreign countries Nekomata had traveled to on his missions. a bat perch for Nekomata himself, if he ever wanted to catch some sleep on a late night. 

a nearly empty garbage bin next to an overflowing recycling bin. a black mini fridge in the corner, since Nekomata rarely wanted to deal with the cafeteria’s permanent chaos. knighthood papers, soldier badges, military dog tags, letters of progress, citizenship certificates, et cetera, were all hung up on a giant cork board behind Nekomata’s desk, a visible reminder of all the young lives Nekomata had saved from war. Kuroo’s own certification of american citizenship hung up there, somewhere. 

a frame on the cluttered desk, of Nekomata and Kuroo smiling together with mountains in the background. 

“Yasufumi, i’m here,” Kuroo coughs into his hand, closing the door behind him with a foot. he scratches at his sling’s strap, walking towards the desk and peering over a stack of books. Nekomata was writing out, in loopy cursive, his signature on a letter to someone. he had zoned out, but when Kuroo coughs into his hand again, he looks up. 

his wrinkled face softens initially at the sight of the younger before hardening over. he gestures with an open hand towards the gothic chair, willing Kuroo to sit. the younger vampire complies, widening his legs and casually lounging in the chair. 

“i’m very disappointed in you, Tetsurou,” Nekomata rasps, clearing his throat. Kuroo looks away from Nekomata’s wrinkly face to stare at the floor in front of him. Nekomata’s eyes catch sight of Kuroo’s limp arm, the white, now red, bandage jumping out at him. “you’re supposed to calm the flame, not wave it on.”

“i know, Yasufumi, i’m not a kid,” Kuroo rubs his forehead with his fingers. “i just got caught up in it, alright? hormones, y’know? my own fraternity brother gets injured at a party we hosted, i felt responsible. i wanted to show that i sided with my kind, not, not-“ 

“not let it be? and don’t pull the hormone thing on me, Tetsurou. you’re twelve years past your sixth hundredth,” Nekomata sighs, putting down his fountain pen to look at Kuroo directly. Kuroo attempts a chuckle, surprised that Nekomata cared to remember his age. seeing the harsh glare he received from the older vampire, Kuroo sighs in defeat, the amusement of the idea sucked out of him. 

“yeah, that,” he kicks at the carpet’s frills in front of him. “it’s stupid.”

“and you have a right to feel that way, Tetsurou, but that doesn’t mean terrorizing other students is justified,” Nekomata furrows his thick eyebrows. “really. i’m not even upset at mr Hoshiumi. you know that most lycanthropes don’t like the water. that young werewolf could have not even known how to swim.”

Kuroo leans back in his chair, his shoulders curving inward. he mumbles quietly, something Nekomata couldn’t quick catch. 

“what was that?”

“nothing,” Kuroo puffs out his cheeks, turning away from Nekomata. the latter frowns. Kuroo breaks away from the eye contact first. “Hoshiumi bit me though..”

“a quid pro quo, Tetsurou! you were about to injure a student, you probably already traumatized her! while i will speak to mr Hoshiumi, he is not an urgent matter!” Nekomata seethes frustratedly, his eyes narrowing. Kuroo recoils in his chair; he never liked mad Nekomata. 

Nekomata covers his forehead with a hand, sighing deeply. “i thought i raised you better than this, Tetsurou.”

kuroo’s eyes flash with indignation. how dare Nekomata pull that card. “i raised myself, Yasufumi. i was already twenty-two, and adult and settled down, when you found me, and half the time since then, you’ve been off in foreign countries, saving other men from war!” he spits, pulling his arm in closer to stare down at it. Kuroo looks back up at Nekomata, who was frowning again. 

“look,” Kuroo flops his wrist over the back of his good arm towards Nekomata, a lame gesture. “i know i fucked up,” he ignores the look he gets when he curses. “i won’t torture anymore werewolves again. can i go?”

“and lycans?”

“you know how i am with Bokuto.”

“and *lycans*?”

Kuroo scowls before finally waving a white flag; he had no choice but to make that promise. he nods solemnly, staring down at the floor by his feet. Nekomata claps his hands together pleasantly, smiling, as if the two hadn’t just argued not even a minute ago. his wrinkles only grew as his eyes closed while smiling. 

“can i go now?” Kuroo repeats impatiently.

“no,” was the stern answer.

Kuroo throws his good arm up in the air with confusion, letting out a dramatic sigh as he crumpled back in his chair. “i have a favor to ask of you, first,” Nekomata continues, picking his fountain pen back up. he pulls out a bright orange index card from somewhere on his desk, and Kuroo watches with curiosity. scribbling something, the elder hands the card over to Kuroo. the younger vampire squints at the cursive, furrowing his eyebrows. “can you read that to me?” Nekomata asks calmly.

“this looks like a key smash,” Kuroo blurts out, staring at the word. 

bereginya

Nekomata reaches out to take back to the card, and Kuroo obliges. “does it look like any language you might know?” Kuroo shrugs at the question. “you’re a smart man, Tetsurou. i thought you’d recognize it,” Nekomata lets out a hollow chuckle, placing the index card down on his desk before folding his hands over each other like a cat. 

“we’re having a foreign exchange student coming tomorrow morning. we have a few here already, but as this university grows, we hope to accommodate more foreign myth folk to experience the american university life for themselves,” Nekomata drawls, a small smile on his face. Kuroo looks back, uninterested.

“cut to the chase, old man. who’s it gonna be and why does it concern me. i’m pretty sure that word doesn’t mean vampire in polish or something,” Kuroo grumbles, frowning at Nekomata. the older laughs like the old man he is, slapping the table lightly in humor. 

“he’s not polish. he’s russian,” there’s a twinkle in Nekomata’s eyes. Kuroo furrows his eyebrows at the sight before his own eyes fill with realization. 

“no- no, i won’t do it! i won’t-“

•••

“and those are the bathrooms,” Kuroo waves his good arm in the direction of the male bathrooms as he speaks in a dead-tired voice. he sighs loudly, drawing it out until he had to inhale again. “do you have any questions?” Kuroo blinks at the man in front of him, looking up to meet him in the eye. 

Lev Haiba looked like a toddler in a candy story, his pupils blown wide like a cat’s with wonder. his backpack added to the toddler-like aura, with cat paws decorated the green material. he shakes his head vigorously towards Kuroo, clapping his hands together as he smiles. “i didn’t realize america had such great universities! this is amazing!” he speaks in an accent that could’ve easily passed as american. 

“are you sure you’re the same Lev i know?” Kuroo raises an eyebrow, a hand on his hip. “you sound awfully american when you speak english..”

Haiba looks at Kuroo in confusion before shaking his head a few times. “you know me, Kuroo. i was born in japan, and my parents raised me speaking english. you’ve never heard me speak english before, that’s it. i’m not fluent in russian, that’s Alisa’s speciality,” Haiba scratches his nape from embarrassment, even though it was a fact Kuroo knew quite well already. 

Kuroo stares at Haiba, blinking slowly. that’s pure stupidity on his parents’ part. “and that’s it for today,” he huffs, pulling his phone out of his fraternity jacket to answer a text. he bites his tongue as he grew annoyed at how long it took to text with one hand, his arm still in a sling. he slept in a coffin in the hospital wing last night. coffins were rarely used by modern vampires as regular beds; nowadays, they were used when vampires sustained injuries and wanted them gone in a matter of a few nights. 

Haiba tilts his head towards Kuroo, watching him pocket his phone again and begin to walk away from him. chasing after the vampire, Haiba forces Kuroo to spin around and face him. Kuroo replies by a cheshire cat grin, cursing on the inside. he just wanted to go to the VAMΠ house, since Nekomata excused him of his classes for the day to be Haiba’s ‘personal guide around campus.’

the russian looked particularly awkward as he looks around anxiously. they were inside the main hall of the university, students bustling around to their classes or just hanging out. looking at each and every one of them with perceptive eyes, Haiba was disappointed to not see his kind. 

“yes, Lev?” Kuroo asks, his eyelids dropping. “i don’t have all day, y’kn-“

“where are the sea dwellers?” the words fall from Haiba’s mouth before he could stop himself. the russian looked ashamed, shifting from one foot to another. 

Kuroo furrows his eyebrows, confused. “i thought your kind were land dwellers?”

“well, uh,” Haiba pokes his index fingers together. “you see, us bereginya are cold water spirits. when the russian government threw out all myth folk back in the early nineteen hundreds, we lost our cold waters, which is what we prefer. since then, we either stay on land or have to suffice for cold baths and showers since siberian temperatures are hard to come across. i.. i was hoping that since we’re in such a diverse school and so north in connecticut, that there would be a sea dweller area.. with colder water..?” Haiba struggles out, anxiously picking at his nails. Kuroo gets a hold on his hands, stopping him from ripping off an entire nail. Haiba looks up, eyes hopeful when he sees a small smirk from Kuroo.

“i didn’t think you had the capability to beg, Lev,” Kuroo snorts before turning away from Haiba. the russian visibly deflates, and Kuroo looks over his shoulder as he stops in his tracks. “are you coming or not?”

Haiba’s face lights up like a toddler again, and he catches up to the vampire. he bows his head in thanks, smiling brightly. Kuroo only laughs. maybe this kid wouldn’t so bad as he was in the past.. especially if he was with people that were like himself. 

•••

“is that the bereginya?”

“i heard his father ran a gulag in the soviet union!”

“weren’t the bereginya all killed by Stalin, though? is he lying?”

“why does he look like.. that?”

Haiba had no problems with his self-image or self-identity back in japan. he towered over everyone back home in his small village, of all bereginya, in his human form at a sky scraping six foot five. he was a fit man with a muscular build, even though exercising wasn’t his favorite thing. he didn’t need to try hard to lose weight, which gave him a lanky composure. 

even in his pure form, Haiba was a giant. bereginya didn’t grow fins or flippers underwater. instead, they just grew physically. Haiba was a monstrous twelve feet underwater, able to walk on the bottom of the river and still have the tips of his now pointy and elvish ears stick out of the surface. he did gain layers of emerald green scales in certain areas for insulation. on his chest, his fingers and toes; his joints and on his cheeks and shoulders. his fingers were also webbed. otherwise, Haiba—and all bereginya, for that matter—didn’t change much. and it was okay, because home in japan, all of the bereginya were similar to Haiba when they were in their pure form.

but this wasn’t japan.

Haiba had never seen so many fins attached to people in his life, and now he was the odd one out. of course, japan had a lot of asian merfolk, but in northern japan where Haiba was raised for the past hundred years, there was only the occasional merperson who usually took a wrong turn into the colder waters. here in america, Haiba saw no bereginya in sight.

it made sense, though. when fleeing the soviet union but still maintaining russian loyalty, what russian would go to nineteenth century america?

Haiba hugs himself as he walks along the bottom of the river. he was slouching slightly so his ears weren’t poking out of the water. apparently, students were growing wary of any sea dweller poking out after an attack on a land dweller yesterday. Haiba didn’t know much about that though, just bits and pieces from passing conversations. as the river declined deeper into the ground, Haiba stood up straight again. 

ahead of him, a grindylow who looked a bit too determined to escort Haiba to the colder waters and a eye-catching potamos had both taken over Kuroo’s position to guide him. Terushima hung closer to the bereginya, his long, fifteen foot-plus long tail circling around Haiba’s shoulders like a scarf.

“**so, little man! how did you like the surface?**” Terushima asks, using the ironic nickname on purpose. because the language was universal, Haiba was able to make sense of it. the nickname was ironic, though. 

Haiba laughs at said nickname before he shrugs with a small smile. Terushima bounces with the shrug, gripping onto the thick scales that coated Haiba’s shoulders. under one of his arms was his jug, secured by a net of seaweed. “**it’s different from japan, but it’s a good different,**”Haiba replies. “**sensei Nekomata was very nice, though,**” he uses the japanese honorific when speaking of the headmaster. Terushima had no clue what sensei met, but went with it. 

“**yo, Hoshi! did you hear that Kuroo was bringing him around campus as a tourguide?!**” Terushima shouts up ahead to the grindylow, who looks back. Hoshiumi swims back to the pair, using his seven tails to move him around like a boat propellor. 

“**did he look roughed up a bit?**” Hoshiumi asks curiously with a wide, toothy smile. Haiba smiles back, not unnerved by the nail-like teeth. he’s seen some creepy smiles before. 

“**well, he was wearing an arm sling..**”

“**i did that!**” Hoshiumi exclaims proudly, banging a fist onto his chest. Terushima copies the action in a fit of laughter. Haiba raises his eyebrows. so *that* was the attack. he suddenly shivers out of pleasure, his mind going blank as he welcomed the sudden dip in temperature with open arms. 

Hoshiumi swims away and ahead of Haiba and Terushima, an arm out towards an underwater door that Haiba soon reached. there was no more sun shining down on the trio when they reached the door; they were now at the sea dweller dormitories, actually, they had just passed the main area of the dormitories, now in a separate area after turning down a hall. there was a sign hanging on the twenty foot tall door, reading in large english letters:

‘FROZEN SECTION. PLEASE WEAR LAYERS IF NOT NATIVE.’

“**behind that door is where the sea dwellers who naturally live in colder waters stay. just tell one of them who you are, everyone down here probably knows who you are now since the second you stepped into the water,**” Terushima pats Haiba’s shoulders a few times, trying to be comforting. Haiba gulps. 

“**oh, c’mon man, don’t be a coward like Asahi!**” Hoshiumi jeers. 

“**who’s Asahi?**” Haiba croaks out before a fresh wave of below freezing water washes over him. while he wasn’t ready, he still enjoyed the feeling. the bliss was shortly-lived, though, as a strong, firm tail bangs into Haiba’s back, forcing him forward. Haiba slowly stumbles in the water, crossing over the door’s frame. the door is closed with a soft and delayed slam behind him. 

now floating in the water, he initially whips his head around to glare at the door. what kind of goodbye was that?! was this a prison for him?-

“**hi! i’m Kai, a senior! you’re Lev Haiba, right?**”

Haiba’s glare softens as he looks around to see a small yet smiling face. Nobuyuki had a lower body of a seal, a lovely spotted coat. his dark skin complimented his coat, and his welcoming smile almost warmed the freezing water. almost. 

Haiba replicates the smile instantly, already feeling safe. “**yeah, how’d you know?**” he cracks a smile. 

Nobuyuki’s smile widens, his eyes closing. “**just a lucky guess!**” 

•••

Hoshiumi shivers, running his hands up and down his arms after Terushima had used his tail to close the door. that shock from the cold shook up the grindylow, but Terushima didn’t seem too affected. catching Terushima worried eye, Hoshiumi sighs before swimming up towards Terushima’s upper body. 

staring at the door, Hoshiumi smiles. “**i think Kai will make him feel right at home, don’t’cha think?**”

Terushima nods, a smile forcing its way onto his face. he holds his jug to his chest, feeling the steady warmth. “**yeah. he’ll be fine.. i hope.**”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 formatting is weird, or maybe i’m just dumb.  
> this chapter introduced the headmaster, Nekomata. Nekomata had to be one of my favorite coaches in HQ!! simply because of his wisdom and his old grandpa-like nature. he’s just?? so cute?? he reminds me of my own poppop, so maybe that’s why i have a soft spot for him.   
> i’ve always thought of Nekomata as a fatherly figure to Kuroo, despite having his own (and not a mother.) Nekomata was his vball coach for three full years, and was captain his last year. Nekomata no doubt gave Kuroo advice on vball, high school, and beyond while he was on the team. i just— mm i love my interpretation of them two.   
> Kenma also makes his debut. even though he is not going to be a very important character, he’s going to be here and there from now on. be on the lookout for the fellow.  
> and we have Lev now! it took me a bit to figure out what creature Lev was going to be. i initially drafted him as a regular mermaid, and then he was going to be the potamos before i realized Terushima was the better pick. as i’ve said before, the idea of this AU came from a failed BoKuroo fanfic, and Lev was a vampire (sucked by Nekomata as well, during the Sino-Russian War), but I wanted Lev to be a foreigner.  
> a bereginya is a Russian water sprite, and it’s seen as a deity for some. the slaughter of a bereginya is punishable by death, but not nearly as taboo as the murder of a potamos. still, though, they’re pretty high up in the sea dwellers subclasses.  
> and yes, in this AU, there were no living myth folk that live in the ussr, and there is barely any myth folk in modern russia. regardless of the ruler, i don’t think that the soviets would take kindly to the myth folk since all gov’ts know, to an extent, of the myth folk population in their country.   
> but yeah.   
> late update, i think i’m going to push this back to weekly updates (saturdays?) since school is starting for me ;; wish me luck.   
> stay tuned for the next chapter, aha!
> 
> and.. is Terushima foreshadowing, or is that just me..?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next update is September 20th.  
> italics, for pressure on a word = *text*  
> bold, for sea screech = **text**

Nishinoya bends back the plastic spoon, closing one eye as he stares at Akaashi through his other. his spoon was filled with corn that Nishinoya was definitely not going to eat, and he was aiming straight for Akaashi, the soon-to-be victim of his corn catapult. Nishinoya stifles a snicker, steadying his hand before letting the yellow kernels fly. 

a hand reaches out to block the incoming food, and it’s swiftly pulled back into the owner’s chest to squirt hand sanitizer into it. the corn had fallen onto the ground, not one even touching Akaashi after Sakusa’s quick save. Nishinoya huffs, what a party pooper, shifting his food tray on his lap as he and his two friends sat in their usual spot by the rock. 

Akaashi didn’t even look up from where he was sipping his vanilla shake calmly, scrolling on his phone. Sakusa sneaks a glare towards Nishinoya, having not taken his mask off even as he had a little carton of strawberries in his lap. come to think of it, Nishinoya had never seen Sakusa’s mask down. nonetheless, Nishinoya snickers, raising his hands up in innocence. 

it was by a string of luck that the three lycanthropes had the same lunch time even though Nishinoya was a sophomore. the seniors had an earlier period while the freshmen had the latest. the three sat outside for their meal, something they wouldn’t be able to do for long as american winter blew in. 

it’s been a few weeks after the garlic incident. it was now near halloween, school in session for almost two months now. everyone had settled down into their class and lecture schedules, and now the students were buckling their seatbelts for the rest of the ride of the year. 

Akaashi looks up from his phone, sitting up slightly. it was a movement that the lycan among them caught. Sakusa raises an eyebrow at the werewolf while Nishinoya stuck blueberries up his nostrils. “Hinata just texted me. Bokuto got sick,” Akaashi replies, typing a reply to supposedly Hinata. 

“why is Hinata.. with Bokuto?” Nishinoya questions, snorting out the blueberries halfway through his sentence so he could speak clearly. Sakusa’s eyes widen with disgust and second-hand humiliation at the sight. Akaashi shrugs, laying back down on his rock. 

“is it the stomach bug? he did receive his rabies shot, right? a tapeworm?” Sakusa begins to fret, checking his forehead with the back of his hand for a temperature. Akaashi covers his mouth as he chuckles. Nishinoya just pointed at the lycan and laughed. 

Akaashi finally shakes his head, another bing coming from his phone. “ah.. he was just throwing up in the bathroom. he might’ve eaten something bad, it wouldn’t be the first time,” Akaashi mumbles, biting at the skin on his knuckles worriedly. “i should go find him..”

Sakusa shakes his head stubbornly. Nishinoya already knew where this was going, so he just shoved the blueberries that were once in his nose into his mouth. “if you go near Bokuto while he’s throwing up, you’re not sitting next to me in spanish class,” Sakusa furrows his eyebrows. 

Akaashi raises his own. “you cheat off me the entire time.”

Sakusa blinks several times before his mask crumpled as he purses his lips underneath. “fine, history class,” he changes his threat. Akaashi sighs before closing his phone. 

“only because i need help with my notes. i have no idea how that professor got a master’s from how bizarrely he teaches..”

Nishinoya laughs as Akaashi surrenders. Akaashi throws one of Nishinoya’s old kernels at him, the younger werewolf falling onto his back dramatically. Nishinoya could hear a content exhale that came from Sakusa as he goes to pack his strawberries away. 

that, alone, made Nishinoya smile.

•••

Akaashi walks next to Sakusa, zoned out as they made their way to their class. they had lost Nishinoya a ways back, who, after seeing Tanaka, had made a beeline into the naga area of the campus grounds. the two juniors didn’t really mind it. they were both quiet lycanthropes, so losing Nishinoya didn’t mean losing a conversation partner. 

Sakusa fixes his mask just as Akaashi wipes at the lens of his glasses with the hem of his jacket. they didn’t speak to each other. their presence said enough.

Sakusa and Akaashi had been friends since their junior year in high school. they didn’t go to the same high school, but they both came from michigan. Sakusa found Akaashi on a full moon, and was the first friendly lycanthrope Akaashi ever met. the werewolf who turned Akaashi fled the area soon after they attacked Akaashi one night, so the poor boy had to navigate his lycanthropic life blindly. 

Sakusa was by Akaashi’s side through his moonings, the term used for when a werewolf is forced by their genetics, altered by the saliva of another werewolf or a lycan, to morph into a real half man, half wolf. they had no sense of right and wrong. all they had were their five senses, and they had to suffer through the night of the full moon and the whole twenty-four hours the day after. 

most werewolves were treated with wolfsbane oil to reduce the pain from their shifting. some werewolves acquire injuries while mooned, but the overwhelming stress of the werewolf’s body will result in blinding pain after the entire event. while wolfsbane was used to repel lycanthropes, it can also be developed into medical ointments and pills that treat lycanthropic injuries. the oil has been proven to work better than the pills, though. 

Sakusa and Sakusa’s father gave Akaashi his first wolfsbane treatment. lycans came from the offspring of two lycanthropes, so the Sakusas knew of Akaashi’s predicament and took him under their roof whenever he needed a place to go. 

after graduating high school, the pair enrolled at the mythical folk university in connecticut together. while they still remained close, even into this year, several things had since built a barrier between their friendship. 

“do you think Bokuto is alright?” Akaashi asks after passing another lycan. Sakusa had silently sized up that lycan, but had dropped the stance when Akaashi spoke. Sakusa offered a shrug. he didn’t even know where Bokuto was right now. he could be in Washijou’s office again, for all Sakusa knew. 

Akaashi nods slowly at the shrug, playing with his fingers anxiously. Sakusa looks down at Akaashi’s hands. unfortunately, he was not the best comforter. Sakusa reaches out to pat Akaashi’s shoulder, but recoils back a second later to pull his jacket’s sleeve up to cover his hand. he then pats Akaashi’s shoulder; the latter chuckles. 

“thanks, Sakusa.”

Sakusa hides a smile that was painful for him to wear behind his mask. “no problem, Keiji.”

•••

“hey, ‘kaashi!” 

the scent of eucalyptus cologne hits the werewolf like a bullet train. Akaashi sticks his nose into his book to replace the calming scent with an old book one, waiting for the lycan to sniff him in greeting, as he always did. Sakusa was somewhere else in the library, suspiciously eyeing a freshman siren that was mumbling something about grindylows in the american literature section. it left Akaashi alone at his table, quietly reading his book.. up until now. 

Bokuto plops down in the chair across from Akaashi, smiling blindingly at the werewolf. there was a small thump that caused Akaashi to look up, seeing Sakusa’s book bag limp on the ground. “that’s Sakusa’s seat,” Akaashi says, lowering his book down to the table. 

Bokuto shrugs, “i’ll pick it up in a second, but i wanted to talk to you about something first.” his legs swing from under the table like a child. Akaashi dogears the page he was on, a book called the daily life of a french pixie, a memoir. he closes the book before giving the lycan his undivided attention, his hands on his lap. 

“so~, since everything calmed down and we haven’t had a party in a while, i was thinking we, as alpha two chi, could maybe throw another party tonight? please say yes, it’s only wednesday and i already finishes my classes,” Bokuto gives Akaashi puppy eyes as he explains his plan. Akaashi tilts his head, his eyebrows knitting. 

“didn’t you just get sick this morning?”

“i did? oh, yeah, i did. forgot. but it’s okay, i went to the nurse and she said i just ate something funky like last time!”

“oh.. and why are you asking me for permission?”

Bokuto taps his chin three times before breaking into a charming smile. “because you’re my favorite, ‘kaashi!”

Akaashi sighs, willing the soft blush on his cheeks to recede. he adjusts his glasses, his eyes catching sight of Sakusa walking back over with a book in his hand. Akaashi looks back at Bokuto before offering a weak smile. “alright, Bokuto. fine by me, then. text me what time, though, because i’ll probably go back to my dormitory after i finish my lecture.”

Bokuto gives Akaashi a small ‘hey, hey, hey’ from excitement, reaching over to squish Akaashi’s cheeks. “will do, ‘kaashi! see you later!” and just that like, the lycan was gone as quickly as he was there. the eucalyptus scent still lingered.

Akaashi stares down at his book, focusing on the e in french as he willed his blush to back down again. Sakusa bends down near the table, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “that siren needs my help. i’m going to go help him,” the lycan says through his mask, leaving the tableside in a brisk walk. 

Akaashi watches Sakusa go, his mouth tugging down into a frown. Sakusa hated helping people. Bokuto forgot to pick up Sakusa’s bag.

•••

when Akaashi, alone, exited the library, the campus grounds looked more alive than usual. Akaashi didn’t like it. 

he zips up his fraternity jacket, burying his chin in the collar of it as he moved across campus. this was the one lecture he didn’t share with Sakusa, so he had to cross campus to the lecture’s building by himself. not that he didn’t want to walk by himself, he just didn’t prefer it. 

Akaashi’s blue eyes scan the grounds, trying to make sense of the chaos. something was off in the air, a scent of panic that the werewolf easily picked up on. why they were panicking, Akaashi didn’t want to know. the fiasco between the lycanthropes and the vampires just seemed to pass. the last thing this university needed was another catastrophe. 

walking around a pack of slow-moving griffins, Akaashi recognizes one of them as Tsukishima. the blond didn’t look particularly happy with life, when did he, but he waved at Akaashi nonetheless. Hinata loved that griffin just as much as he did his siren and naga friend, so they were constantly being dragged around by the young werewolf. Akaashi had almost turned into a mother hen to Hinata, making sure he did his homework every night and did it correctly. he probably knew more about Tsukishima from Hinata’s rants by now that Tsukishima knew about himself.

Akaashi continues through the campus, reaching the infamous bridge. his ears sting with a cool breeze as he stops at the climax of the bridge, staring out down the river with wide eyes. his jaw was slightly dropped, open just enough for a fly to come into. 

sea dwellers were crawling out of the river by the tens. they were shifting into land-suitable forms, and the ones that couldn’t were bobbing in the water like buoys, anxiously looking around. never had Akaashi seen such a surge of surfacing sea dwellers. he grew up in michigan too, near the great lakes that had underwater villages. no mass surfacing ever happened there. granted, there were regular humans there, but still. 

the breeze kicks up, carrying shouts from behind Akaashi down the other side of the river. he takes a step to turn around to see the same image down the other way. was there a contaminant in the water? Akaashi couldn’t figure it out. 

there were even some sea dweller teachers running around—much more calmer than the students, but they were still looking around in search of something. a something Akaashi didn’t know, shared by most of the land dwellers. 

Akaashi descends from the bridge, jumping over a small puddle before continuing towards the building. the lycanthrope area was mostly bare because of how late it was in the afternoon by now. four thirty six. the lycans, with a few exceptions, were done with their classes since lycans weren’t the smartest creatures, and the majority of werewolves were wrapping up their classes, Akaashi included. 

reminding himself of his lecture, Akaashi hurries up his pace. his eyes kept catching glimpses of shining scales or worried eyes as he walked. he tried to ignore them all. the building was right there. right there- Akaashi grabs the door’s rustic handle, pulling on it with a grunt. 

“Keiji!”

“no,” Akaashi breathlessly pants, not wanting to deal anyone who wanted help with a search for something that wasn’t his to look for. he slips through the doorway and lets it close with a thunk behind him. 

Sakusa lets his hand fall, staring at the door as it closes. he shoves his hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone. opening up messages, his thumb hovers over Akaashi’s contact. 

something’s wrong, he thinks. something bad is happening and i don’t want to say this, but i’m scared. 

Sakusa shuts off his phone, standing alone in front of a building he had no business with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big chapter up ahead ✨ stay tuned for the next update, aha!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be released whenever i feel like it, hopefully soon.

when one was popular enough to be invited to a Α2Χ, one must go.if one didn’t, it was like a slap in the face to A2X.one could kiss their popularity, even their little five seconds of it, goodbye. 

A2X parties were wilder than the other fraternity parties.they were all thrown by dogs, after all.they had no turn off switch, just a single-track mind of go, go, go.at least when VAMΠ parties were up, there were some sober figures around to deal with the intoxicated or drugged students.at A2X parties, sobriety was as rare as striking gold. 

the A2X house was similar to the VAMΠ house in a sense of its design.it had the modern look that the VAMΠ house and the university buildings shared, with the same gray-black color palette.that’s where the comparison ended. 

the lycanthrope fraternity house was considerably smaller than the other houses, including the ones off campus, but they made up for it in their yard space. 

the backyard for the A2X house was, in simple terms, monstrous.it was at least an acre of land just outside of the school gates, the thick, covering trees of the woods running around it.the yard had trees in it, as well as lush green grass and a large patio.a few years back, the fraternity scraped together their own money to install a pool.now, the heated, in-ground pool with a diving pool was the prize gem of the yard, even as the weather grew colder. 

there was a tree swing hanging from a sturdy oak.tennis balls littered the yard, bubble wands shoved into bins for the pleasure of the lycanthropes when they had downtime.a large outside kitchen was rested up against the house, which only had bathrooms, a pool table, some kitchen appliances and a living area.lycanthropes were outdoor creatures, not indoor. 

overhanging lights that were strung from the roof and connected around in a pentagon by the trees were turned on as the sun set.other strings of lights crossed over the yard, connecting back with the pentagon’s vertices on the other side.it was put together considerably well. 

two large coolers filled to the brim with alcoholic beverages were being emptied as quickly as they were refilled.half-empty beer bottles littered the patio tables and the kitchen counters, forgotten by the partiers that had gone on to join beer pong or jump into the toasty pool fully clothed.it had only been an hour or two since the party started, but it was pure insanity already. 

Bokuto was playing beer pong with Nishinoya as his partner, versing Daishou and Semi, who was an ashen gray-colored naga.neither Bokuto or Daishou were sober enough to land any shots, both now struggling with four cups left.Nishinoya was trafficking shots to Bokuto, secretly hoping that if Bokuto was drunk enough, he’d pass out and this whole party would draw to a close faster if he wasn’t. 

Nishinoya himself had had a few beers already, but it wasn’t enough to get him swaying on his feet.it was enough to cloud his judgment, yes, but he wasn’t falling down like a drunkard.handing Bokuto another shot, Nishinoya flashes a thumbs up towards Sakusa with a cheeky grin; the lycan notices it, but only dips his chin slightly in respond.

Sakusa’s mouth tastes like crude alcohol, a taste he never liked but dealt with since he was an adult.adults drank at parties, so Sakusa had to too.he was still holding his first beer bottle, it not even being halfway done as he drank at a deliberately slow pace.Sakusa preferred red wine over anything.if he ever wanted to go back to his dormitory to sleep when the time came, he couldn’t be stumbling around on campus grounds. 

Sakusa had lost Akaashi early on, and now he was dealing with Hinata of all people.freshmen weren’t supposed to attend fraternity/sorority parties, but Ukai Jr couldn’t regulate lycanthropic parties.even as a lycan himself, it was merely impossible. 

Hinata looked buzzed, no trace of marijuana on him but alcohol was strong.he had a cup of water in his cups from Sakusa, and Kageyama was seeing stars next to him.Sakusa knew he recognized that siren when he saw him in the library earlier, but it didn’t click until Hinata pulled him to this party.not the smartest move, but this was Hinata.he wasn’t too bright. 

supposedly, Hinata had brought along two more of his friends, the griffin and the naga.Sakusa didn’t care to know their names, but he saw no griffins in a sea of lycanthropes and nagas.maybe he left early.Sakusa sighs to himself, watching the two freshmen with stern eyes as they took some more sips of their water. 

leaning back onto the chair he stood up against, Sakusa marvels the chaos of the party.who knew throwing two hundred college-aged students into a generous yard would end with some werewolves breaking off a large branch from a tree and throwing it like a javelin?or a naga almost drowning in the pool?already, a few black out drunks?

Sakusa wrinkles his nose at it all, the smell of alcohol making him cringe.in times like these, he really hated his sense of smell.Sakusa is fine with scented candles and a roasting fireplace, but not an alcoholic, druggy party. 

Hinata burps from his chair.

Sakusa took his leave. 

he peels his prussian blue jacket off to tie it around his waist, not wanting to get any stares or calls if a fraternity brother was leaving the frat party.he wore a black tee and a leather necklace with an iron crucifix underneath; Sakusa would have to hurry up if he wanted to reach the dormitories without turning into an icicle. 

the lycan stops inside the house, surprised that there weren’t much people instead.there were two werewolves making out like their lives depended on it and a sleeping naga, but otherwise, it was quiet.Sakusa leaves a note on the fridge, asking someone to escort Hinata home for the night.lycanthropes had to watch out for each other. 

closing the A2X house’s door behind him, the music turned fainter and fainter as Sakusa grew closer to the school gates.the lycanthropic sorority house was closer to the gates than the fraternity house was, so he passed it with a hand up in greeting.his cousin was probably in there, painting nails, gossiping, or whatever females do. 

Sakusa’s curls blow uncomfortably in the brisk, nighttime air, rubbing against the back of his neck.grumbling, the lycan ducks his head down to shrug up his shoulders.the university gates were wide open when he reached out, so he just passed the security guard with a nod before continuing.the security guard wasn’t there, he noted, after looking back through one of the security station’s windows. 

suspicious, Sakusa thinks. 

the campus was usually quiet past nine pm.if anyone was in a fraternity or sorority, they probably either went there or to their dorms.unaffiliated students were probably at their dorms too, or the library.the only people to stayed on the campus grass by now were security guards and the occasional intoxicated student.as winter closed in on connecticut, nobody was looking to camp out on the grounds at night. 

but tonight..

Sakusa squeezes through a crowd of sea dwellers, uncomfortable but he had to get through somewhere.red-white-and-blue lights flashed in the night sky, washing over faces.the red light passes over Sakusa’s.the blaring of a siren ringed in his ears like solemn church bells.he looks over the crowd of sea dwellers, thankfully taller than the majority of them. 

a cloaked in white figure was being loaded into an ambulance.all Sakusa saw was a glint of blond hair before the doors shut. 

someone was crying; correction: almost everyone was crying.the sea dwellers were hugging each other, their multicolored scales reflecting off of the ambulance’s lights as it revved to life.the sirens blared as it began to drive away from the riverside. 

“someone get help!he’s drowning!”

Sakusa winces at the loud and desperate male scream.he pauses, craning his head to look to where the scream came from.for a scene where someone supposedly just died, he looked all too calm.but, panic set in when Sakusa saw a choking figure on the riverside, heaving tremendously as water poured from his mouth.another figure was crouching next to the drowning man, frozen with panic.a siren and a vampire; Sakusa could smell them. 

Sakusa bites his tongue, hoping he packed extra bottles of hand sanitizer before pushing forcefully through the crowd.this siren wasn’t his kind, he never would be, but after watching that ambulance pull away and with no administration in sight, he couldn’t stand aside and let another student die. 

he couldn’t let someone else die. 

dropping to his knees next to the siren, the vampire almost punched him square in the jaw when he pushes his friend over onto his back.if it wasn’t for Sakusa’s sturdy hands immediately turning the siren’s head to the side before beginning to pressing down on his dampened chest, pumping to a steady beat, the vampire surely would’ve. 

Sakusa’s eyes look up at the staring crowd, furious he had to become the spotlight and nobody was doing anything but staring bug-eyed at him.“get the fucking headmaster!” he curses from behind his mask, continuing to pump on the man’s chest.the siren’s mouth was still coughing up water, heavily breathing.after a few more seconds of pumping, the body convulses before the siren tries to sit up, throwing up water all over his chest, his tied fraternity jacket and Sakusa’s hands. 

disgusting.

involuntary tears leak from the siren’s eyes, and the vampire reaches over to wipe at his friend’s face.the siren coughs up more water, but it looked like that one hefty heave was the bulk of what he inhaled. 

“what is going _on_ here?!”

Sakusa couldn’t possibly hate this situation more than he already did, so he went with it. 

•••

Sakusa sits in a metal chair, his head drooping low between his shoulders as he tried to make his existence disappear entirely.he just wanted to have a peaceful walk back to his dormitory; to blast music in his earpods to ignore his roommate’s indecent rants about how lycans are really dead wolf ghosts and that sakusa was actually a werewolf like himself; to do his favorite skin care mask that night before sleeping. 

he didn’t expect to be sitting right next to a group of vampires and a siren. 

none of them had made any move to talk to sakusa yet.from his observation, it was that one tan vampire from the shore standing next to a tall one that he instantly recognized as Kuroo.the unmistakable Miya twins, along with two darker skinned vampires and then a silver-haired siren.a few more sirens were waiting outside, visible through the fishtank window.the small waiting room in the hospital wing reeked of vampire, water, rosemary, and lycan sweat. 

the tan vampire looked like an absolute wreck.he wasn’t crying, but his face had fallen to one of pure hopelessness and loss.he was barely able to make words, even.he was only able to make out two words.“not again.. not again.”Sakusa didn’t know what again meant.his friends were in no way a help; they weren’t even moving to help him.Sakusa felt bad for the vampire.he probably wasn’t one someone could easily comfort and make everything rainbows again. 

Sakusa clenches his hands in front of him, leaning down against his legs.he lets them unclench before pushing himself up from the chair.he wasn’t meant to be here; he wasn’t supposed to be here.he takes his drenched-in-spit-water fraternity jacket from his waist and slips it over his shoulders before adjusting his mask.Kuroo’s eyes watch Sakusa like a hawk; Iwaizumi looks at him with his chest falling and rising rapidly with panic. 

“you’re leaving?” Iwaizumi asks hesitantly.Sakusa ignores the growl coming from the bumble bee-looking vampire, not turning to face the group of seven. 

“yes.i have no place here.i just carried him,” Sakusa’s dark eyes glance back at the door to the room the siren was being helped in.“up here.” 

“ya can’t leave yet!” Atsumu steps forward, his eyebrows furrowed with anger at the lycan’s impoliteness.“Oikawa’s gonna want to see thank ya!” Sakusa scowls at the accent.Atsumu couldn’t see the scowl.he probably would’ve blown a fuse if he did see it. 

Sakusa goes to speak, but Kuroo beats him to it.“Atsumu, calm down.” Atsumu huffs, but Ojiro’s hand on his shoulder gets him to shut up.Kuroo looks at Sakusa, his eyes icy with no emotion in them.his cologne smelt of herbs.“you’re one of Bokuto’s friends, right?”

friend is hardly the word i would use, Sakusa thinks.he couldn’t say that.what if one of them blabbered?“yes,” he forces out, zipping his jacket.“see the jacket?alpha two chi?ring a bell?” a growl slips through his mask as he sarcastically replies.“leave me alone.i don’t need to do business with vampires and sirens,” his eyes move from the vampires to the single siren in the ground.Iwaizumi steps in front of Sugawara, taking his focus.“Bokuto will have my head on a sil.. a platter if he smells vampire on me,” Sakusa says distastefully as he wrinkles his nose as Iwaizumi.Kuroo raises an eyebrow, but lets Iwaizumi take care of the conversation. 

“just stay until Oikawa is awake,” Iwaizumi tries to reason with the lycan.“you probably don’t even know why he was drowning, or what the _ambulance_ was doing there.”

Kuroo visibly flinches at the word, looking down.Sugawara sniffles.Kyoutani took his leave, and Sakusa hides a wince well when he hears a wall being punched. 

“i- i have to take care of him,” Iwaizumi’s eyes dart to the door as Ojiro moves to go comfort Kyoutani first.“he’s one of mine.. you can even go see Oikawa first when he’s awake, if you want, but please just let him know who saved him.”

Sakusa’s gaze hardens over with ice.his nose wrinkles at how much begging the vampire was doing, but if he said no, the glaring Atsumu and Osamu lingering behind him might rip him to shreds.the curly-haired man returns to his seat, unzipping his jacket before waving himself cool.“until midnight.”

the clock read ten oh two when Iwaizumi stepped out of the room to help Kyoutani.Ojiro slips back in next to Kuroo, and Sakusa hides his wince again when the wall suffers once more.

•••

Sakusa stands up against the wall, trying to distance himself from the vampires and the siren that came to stand by the bedside.Oikawa was awake and sitting up in the bed, not crying anymore and all of the water in his lungs gone.Sugawara started crying, though, and Iwaizumi helped the siren out of the room.Sakusa couldn’t help but notice the hurt look that passed through Oikawa’s eyes after Iwaizumi left. 

Atsumu glared at Sakusa the entire time.Sakusa didn’t know the vampire’s problem.Sakusa didn’t drown Oikawa.he was just a bystander who had answered a call of help.Sakusa might be selfish, but he wasn’t going to let some poor soul die.he’s bore witness to enough death in his life. 

the blond man gave sakusa the stink eye up until he exited the hospital wing.Osamu didn’t bother to apologize for his brother’s actions, following suit after Atsumu as the twins left the wing.Ojiro does apologizes on the two’s behalf, saying something about losing a friend and consequently being antsy.maybe one of their old friends drowned.maybe their friend was the one he caught a glimpse of in the ambulance.Sakusa could only nod, accepting the apology silently.Ojiro left the wing after that. 

Kyoutani didn’t even enter the wing to see Oikawa, so it was just Kuroo left with the siren and the lycan.the vampire’s usual grin was gone as he looks at Sakusa through tired eyes.“Oikawa, this is..” he begins before faltering.he didn’t know Sakusa’s name.Sakusa bites back a growl before bowing slightly towards Oikawa. 

“Kiyoomi Sakusa,” he says for himself.Oikawa smiles bittersweetly on the bed, waving the lycan over. 

“i’ll see you later, Tetsu,” he looks at Kuroo after Sakusa didn’t budge.Kuroo purses his lips, thinking about something, before nodding.he gives Sakusa a brisk nod in goodbye, but he ducks down to give Oikawa a hug. 

“if you need anything, just text me or have the nurse reach me,” Kuroo pauses at the hospital wing’s door, a hand on the frame.Oikawa shoos him with a hand, and kept up the hand motion until the door closed behind Kuroo.once it was closed, Oikawa’s attention turns towards the uncomfortable lycan in the room. 

“thank you, Sakusa,” Oikawa attempts a smile but it crumbles.“i thought Iwa could do cpr, but maybe he just panicked,” he speaks sadly of the vampire.Sakusa slouches inward, not talking. 

“you’re very cold.”

“i’m wearing my jacket, the one that you threw up all over,” Sakusa replies slowly, casting a confused eye Oikawa’s way.the siren giggles, hiccuping. 

“sorry about that, and i mean your personality.your presence, Sakusa.it’s cold, i’m shivering,” Oikawa tries to explain as he rubs his hands together.“did something happen tonight to you, or are you just like this?”

“i’m not here to be interrogated,” Sakusa huffs, shoving his hands into his pockets.“the hedgehog vampire asked me to stay so you could say thank you, and since you did, i best be going.it’s late.we have school tomorrow.” sakusa takes a step towards the door, his back facing Oikawa.

“they canceled it.”

“i.. what?” Sakusa’s hand hovers over the door handle.he could feel the frown Oikawa was sending him from the bed.“they don’t cancel school unless it snows, or there’s a death on campus.”

“didn’t you see the ambulance?” Oikawa mumbles solemnly, rubbing up and down an arm with the opposite hand.Sakusa had heard of Oikawa before, the prideful chick-magnet siren whose voice, in terms of sirens, was unrivaled on campus.he’s seen Oikawa before.this wasn’t like the Oikawa Sakusa knew of.“there _has_ been a death,” Oikawa accents the word as his voice shakes.Sakusa looks over his shoulder.

“i tried to save him,” Oikawa wipes his eyes with his fingertips, his fingers coming away wet.“that’s why i went underwater.sirens were once sea dwellers, we can breathe underwater.. someone had shouted for help when me and Iwa were walking to our dormitories from the phi lambda house, so i answered.he was already dead when i went under,” Oikawa explains in as steady as a voice he could muster.“the transition between breathing air and breathing water is very painful for sirens since we’ve adapted to live on land.we’re born in water and we have gills, we still have lungs made for air,” Oikawa gasps, his eyes glossy with tears. 

“the ambulance took Teru away because i pushed him up to the surface first.. and he’s more important. i started drowning. Iwa pulled me up, but as you saw, i will still drowning when you came.”

Sakusa’s gaze darts down to the floor, not able to meet Oikawa’s brown eyes that were filled with remorse and grief.he couldn’t be serious right now.“the potamoi will be furious.. someone shattered Teru’s jug in the men’s bathroom, third floor at nine twenty four.half of it is missing, and Teru’s dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i’m not dead  
> but Teru is 👉🤡👉


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh next chapter comes out when i feel like it lmaooo

they were everywhere. 

white vans with logos on them, cameras pulled out of them.women dresses up in vibrant pant suits, holding microphones up to their mouths as they read off of pre-written scripts from screens.the make-up that coated their faces was in layers upon layers, trying to look their best as they recorded the story of the century. 

classes were shut down accordingly for the next four days after federal agencies came in to handle the investigation.that meant a four day weekend to some, but to the majority of the school’s body, it just meant four days of wallowing around and waiting for the media’s coverage to pass.the funeral was being held on saturday.there was going be no body in the casket. 

for those four days, the sun came out to play. 

as headmaster Nekomata desperately tried to push the media off of the university’s property, the students stayed inside their dormitories or make the trek to their brotherhood or sisterhood houses.there was no laughter ringing out on campus like there usually was; there was no drinking, no smiles.no pleasant emotions. 

when a potamos died, it felt like the world slowed down just a bit more.the potamoi were some of the only divine creatures left in modern society, so a natural passing was devastational enough.but a murder-

a potamos’s life was connected to their amphora jug.it was their lifeline, their essence, their warmth of life.if it chipped, it felt like a bullet going right through the potamos’s body.if it shattered, the potamos died on the spot.there was no warning, there were no symptoms.if the jug fell, so did the potamos. 

there was a way to bring back fallen potamoi, but it was close to impossible.bring the jug’s pieces to a welder by solving the riddle that ties to a potamos’s individual life story.the thing was, no potamos could see another potamos’s inked life story that was cast onto their corresponding jug.it just wouldn’t show in their eyes.and if nobody knew the story, it was incredibly hard to figure out which welder, there were thousands over the globe, would be the correct one to fix the individual jug. 

as the investigators tried to painstakingly put together the pieces that were left at the scene, it became obvious that half of the jug was indeed missing.the killer most probably stole and hid them; the killer knew what they were doing. 

unless the killer was apprehended and every single chip of the jug was found and sent to the right welder, Terushima wasn’t going to graduate the university. 

“this is utterly preposterous!” Terushima’s father had screamed in the face of headmaster Nekomata, who accepted the incoming onslaught of infuriated words from the potamos.Terushima’s father wasn’t the only outraged potamos on campus that friday; the divine aura resonating from the headmaster’s office that day was overwhelming to be in a five hundred foot radius of. 

“we sent one of our youngest here in hopes he will spread his good ideals to other myth folk!we did not send him to be _murdered_!”

“we’re sorry for your disapp-“

“your handling of the students is concerning!what happened to the vampire incident a few weeks ago?!did you just give up?!”

the potamoi left the campus in a fury, but Terushima’s father stopped by one dormitory in search of someone who was probably grieving just as much as he was. 

“Kentarou?” a knock.two knocks.“Kentarou, it’s me,” mr Terushima calls, his hand hovering over the door’s surface.there was no answer from inside the dormitory.it was oddly silent.trying the knob, mr Terushima peers into the room through a small slit of open door.he widens it further, taking in the dormitory.the small, single bed was messy as it could be, some blankets laying on the floor.books littered the floor, a small bin toppled onto its side.a bulletin board of pictures was hung above the messy bed, mostly of a familiar blond, but also a few recognizable vampires and others. 

the window was wide up when mr Terushima reached it, staring out from the third story.he sighs.maybe Kyoutani had a better way of coping than screaming at the headmaster. 

•••

sure, he tries to push people away from him because he just ends up losing them. 

sure, he misses not being like everyone else, having fifteen friends and going through them like laundry every week. 

sure, Kyoutani wasn’t a cuddly type person who got along with people easily. 

but Terushima didn’t care. 

Kyoutani sits on a log, ignoring the eerie whispers and the occasional twig snaps that came from behind him.his feet were soaked through his converses and socks in a shallow stream that ran from a small pool up a ways ahead.he was trying to clear his thoughts, angrily throwing rocks further and further into the woods. 

he didn’t come here often.nobody should come here often.the woods were off limits for reasons Kyoutani only had minimal understanding of.Kyoutani came here when he didn’t want to deal with people.he would’ve gone insane by now if he didn’t have an escape from humanity.Kyoutani wasn’t a people person; he never was. 

he fumbles with his shoelaces, kicking off his converses and tossing them behind the log.he also strips himself of his warm jacket and leaves it with the converse.he stands up from the log, wading through the ankle deep water to go further upstream. 

Kyoutani has always been a quiet person.his words came in forms of actions.whether it be nudges, high-fives, scowls, or punches, it was always action.he was an action kind of man.even in class, he rarely ever talked.if he got called on, sure, he’d reply, but it was short and brisk.

there was no denying the fact that Kyoutani valued actual action over weak-willed words.he trusted the man more who actually went and brought home the head than the man who said he slayed the dragon ten times over.action was everything.words were useless. 

at least, that’s what he thought before meeting Terushima. 

Kyoutani was young by vampire standards.Terushima was his first taste at the sea dwelling population of the earth; he grew up in the deep south, living as a runaway.he never saw the ocean before.the south wasn’t particularly fond of sea dwellers back in the eighteen hundreds, so he never had any exposure to them.sure, he’d seen the occasional river creature but he never talked to one.he probably would’ve have not talked at all.

they met back in the mid nineteen hundreds, when Kyoutani finally made it to connecticut with Iwaizumi.he didn’t even mean to run into Terushima; he was in new york city one day, and the two locked eyes.Kyoutani tried to push Iwaizumi into the subway faster.Terushima ran away from the miya twins and ojiro, launching himself into the subway without a sense of safety.his excuse?“you looked interesting, and i wanted to know you better!” since then, Terushima rarely left Kyoutani’s sight; the latter wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse. 

Terushima was the yin to Kyoutani’s yang.he talked the talk, but didn’t always seem to walk the walk.‘oh sure, i beat this sea monster with my bare hands, but i have nothing to prove it other than some ink on a jug.’‘did you know i made it rain from my hands?yeah, but it’s kinda hard to do so i can’t do it now.’

Kyoutani abhorred every second of it because Terushima always added the end of a rant with, ‘so, what do you think?’ it was an open ticket for Kyoutani to continue a conversation he didn’t want to be in the first place.sometimes, they’d throw punches because Kyoutani didn’t want to verbally express his annoyance.Terushima didn’t seem to mind; maybe he actually did defeat a sea monster from how well he fought. 

other times, Terushima would just wait around for hours for an answer, deep into the night as Kyoutani finished up his work, whether it be his work as a carpenter or school, silently.Terushima would even help Kyoutani on his work, though the latter didn’t verbally accept nor acknowledge the help.Kyoutani never replied to Terushima, but Terushima still.. stayed. 

that’s why Kyoutani loved him at first.because he never left, despite how much Kyoutani pushed against him. 

and now, Terushima left. 

so, when Kyoutani started screaming in the middle of the woods where no one could hear him, it meant something. 

he kicked; jumped; stomped, tripped and fell.he beat the ground, splashing water everywhere.his knuckles were bloody as they scratched against rocks underwater.his knees were already beat up from old scars, new scraps forming from when he fell.salty tears ran down his face in an ugly fashion, dripping and joining the running water.water, water, water.the one thing he loved. 

he loved Yuuji, and Yuuji was gone. 

Kyoutani scoops up the water, throwing it out of the stream in anger.it fell on the muddy ground, only seeping back into the stream further down.it was dirty, but it always came back.it was fucked up, but one day or another, it always came back. 

Kyoutani rubs at his eyes with wet hands, his face splattered with water and his eyes red from tears.he was sitting in the mud, the stream simply parting to go around him as it continued to run.he looked like a mess; he was a mess.there was no denying it. 

Kyoutani grits his teeth, clenching and unclenching his hands.his eyes were squeezed shut, refusing to look the person in front of him in the eye. 

“why are you acting like a stubborn baby again, bumble bee?come on and play a game with me!i like it when i win!”

the person in front of him tries to pull Kyoutani’s hands down from his face.Kyoutani only slaps them up against his face, not wanting the person to see his face.his shoulders quavered with a loud sob, making Kyoutani only cry more from how disgusted he was by his weakness. 

“crying isn’t going to get you anywhere~!”

Kyoutani scrambles to his feet, water falling from his khaki pants and his decorative long sleeve shirt like a waterfall.he should’ve worn something less expensive.he strides further down the stream, his converses forgotten as his mind just screamed to get away from the person in front of him.tears kept welling up in his eyes, causing him to angrily rub at his cheeks as they poured down. 

the vampire looks over his shoulder after he walked ten feet up the stream.the person was gone.Kyoutani sniffles as he faces forward, snot running down from his nose.his face was scrunched up in a mix of anger and pain, his nose wrinkled enough to make him look like a bulldog. 

“get the fuck away from me.”

“aw, bumble bee’s talking~, how cute!but seriously, babe.you have to calm down.”

Terushima stood in front of Kyoutani, his hands on his hips sassily.his signature crooked smile was smeared onto his face.Kyoutani found it funny how Terushima still managed to smile despite the pain he was putting Kyoutani through.Kyoutani’s lower lip quivers at the sight of Terushima, acting like everything was fine.he wished everything was fine. 

“what’s wrong, bumble bee?shark got your tongue?” Terushima chuckles, walking forward to smile up at Kyoutani.his pearlescent scales shone in the weak sunlight that was able to seep through the evergreen pines.Kyoutani knew Terushima’s face more than he did his own. 

he knew the small scar he had above his right eyebrow from an accident with a piece of coral.how the ends of his mouth would curl up when he found anything in life interesting, no matter how awkward the situation was or if anyone else was laughing.the chip in his lower right canine after he bit into a rock too hard on a dare. how his almond eyes almost turned orange whenever he looked at fire, one of his favorite things.the one thing he _loved_. 

Terushima’s eyes were a weak orange as he stared at Kyoutani.they were polar opposites; the talker and the doer.water and fire.Kyoutani hated their dynamic just as much as he loved it. 

his bloodied hands curl into fists at his sides.Kyoutani flicks his chin up slightly, backing up so he could crouch.the vampire bounced on his feet, the water splashing around his ankles.Terushima holds up his hands, exasperated, as he backed up too. 

“not talking anymore?that’s so like you.a sentence at most and you shut down.you’re so stubborn sometimes,” Terushima’s form drops, his own hands balling into fists.there was a playful twinkle in his eyes as he gestures with two fingers for Kyoutani to come closer.his pearl tongue piercing flashes as he speaks: “come on to me, Kenta.”

Kyoutani lunges forward, one fist flying for a nasty uppercut that would’ve hit Terushima square in the jaw if he didn’t move.Terushima rolls to the side, kneeling before jumping towards Kyoutani.the vampire braces himself, holding up his arms in an x-formation. 

Terushima slams into Kyoutani’s arms, and he disappeared with a little glimmer of mist.Kyoutani blinks two times at the cloud of mist.more tears fall.he drops his arms, his hands relaxing as he looks around him. 

he was standing in the evergreen woods, ankle-deep the middle of a stream and drenched in water, mud and blood.there was no Terushima. 

he was gone and Kyoutani was still there.

“hey.”

Kyoutani turns around, expecting Terushima to reappear just to mock him for crying some more.his hands were back up, the small scratches on them not having the chance to scab yet.his eyebrows furrow, but they relax when he recognizes the person holding his converses and Kyoutani’s coat over his shoulder.in his other hand held a bag that smelt delicious. 

Iwaizumi weakly smiles.it looked forced.he was dressed in a simple, tan trench coat and a wool sweater.his own sneakers were soaked as he stood in the stream.“let’s get you inside before you catch hypothermia.”

•••

Kyoutani was, as usual, quiet as Iwaizumi escorted him to the dormitories.it was noon, all the mythical media vans stopping for lunch somewhere not on campus.that left Kyoutani and Iwaizumi alone on bare campus grounds, the only sign of life being the two circling security guards.Kyoutani munches on a hamima chicken roll, his fangs tearing into the crunchy snack.Iwaizumi had his own roll in his hand, the half-empty bag still hanging from his hand. 

Iwaizumi swallows his bite, glancing at Kyoutani out of the corner of his eyes before blinking and looking forward.“how have you been holding up?” he asks, trying to be empathetic even though he couldn’t fathom the pain Kyoutani was in. 

Kyoutani intelligently grunts.Iwaizumi nods.“yeah, i thought so.”

Kyoutani lets out a shaky sigh after he swallows his mouthful.“i don’t need your help,” he says shortly to Iwaizumi, as though he were out of breath.“i’m fine.”

“no, you’re not, Kentarou,” Iwaizumi replies just as shortly.“i saw your punch indent in the wall wednesday night.it was worse than mine.i haven’t seen you since then.it’s friday.” 

Kyoutani growls from the back of his throat, looking away from the shorter vampire.

“he’s not my boyfriend, Kentarou.you know i don’t like oikawa like that,” Iwaizumi sighs, closing his eyes as the two crossed a bridge that was partially blocked off by yellow tape.Kyoutani doesn’t reply, he just takes an angry bite out of his roll.Iwaizumi stops walking, making Kyoutani double back after he kept going.“i don’t know how you feel, you’re partially right.i can’t understand how you feel, but i’m here for you, Kentarou.haven’t i always been?”

Kyoutani watches Iwaizumi with dead eyes.the latter doesn’t show any signs of disappointment, but he retained eye contact.“and i know you don’t like other people helping you, but _i’m here_ ,” Iwaizumi accents his words.Kyoutani wrinkles his nose, lowering his roll that he was about to take a bite out of.he points to the bag in Iwaizumi’s hand. 

“oh, uh, here,” Iwaizumi hands the bag over. 

“tell Ojiro i said hi,” was Kyoutani’s last sentence to Iwaizumi before he began to go down the side of the bridge they just came back up.Iwaizumi reaches after the junior’s retreating form, but he lets him go. 

he shouldn’t baby Kyoutani.he wasn’t the mislead twenty year old Iwaizumi had saved.Kyoutani knew what he was doing.. or so Iwaizumi hoped. 

•••

Kyoutani doesn’t acknowledge the two senior sirens that pass him in the hall.Hanamaki looks up at him, looking like he wanted to say something, but Matsukawa pushes him along.Matsukawa holds up a hand in greeting, but Kyoutani ignores the action.he pushes forward, still wet, muddy, bloody, and kind of cold, but he had two hot hamima chicken rolls in his bag and he needed to see someone. 

tossing out his first roll’s wrapper in the nearest garbage bin, Kyoutani signs into the hospital wing hastily, ignoring the nurse’s worried look at his state before walking through the swinging door.Oikawa was looking out his bedside window when Kyoutani drops the bag on his lap; the siren looks up, surprised.his small frown curves into a snarky smirk when Kyoutani sits down in the chair next to Oikawa’s bed, leaning forward and wringing his hands. 

Oikawa silently pulls out the two rolls, looking at the ingredients on the receipt to make sure there was no nuts in them.after it was clear, he opens one and holds the other out to Kyoutani.Kyoutani was like a silent Iwaizumi; he accepted it without a thanks, no turn of his head.it fascinated Oikawa how much Iwaizumi had imprinted on the young vampire. 

taking a bite of the roll, Kyoutani’s dark eyes catch Oikawa staring at him.he raises an eyebrow, swallowing.Oikawa looked flustered as he got caught, turning his gaze away from Kyoutani.his expression soon turned cold. 

“are you pitying me, Kyoken?because i don’t need your pity,” Oikawa spits with venom, his eyes narrowing as he stares down at the steaming roll in his hands.it smelled wonderful, but Oikawa didn’t want a pity party.“i’ve already had Ushijima come scold me for drowning again, and then i had to deal with his and Tsukishima’s presence for hours on end.boring as fuck, let me tell you,” his attempt at humor was ineffective against Kyoutani. 

Oikawa keeps his eyes on the roll.“what i did was stupid and i very well could have died, i know that, trust me.but when you’re in the moment, you can’t wait to pick the safe route.i had to do something since nobody else was.”

Kyoutani sighs.Oikawa shakes his head.Kyoutani grunts, waving a hand around as he chewed.Oikawa inhales sharply, his eyes looking upward with his hands out in hopelessness as he falls back against the bed’s plush pillows.“you’re unbelievable.”

“believe it,” Kyoutani grumbles, taking another bite of his roll.“eat.something tells me you haven’t yet today.” he ignores the glare he received from Oikawa.“Hajime tried to throw _me_ a pity party,” Kyoutani gestures a hand towards his chest.“with these.the whole, oh come to me if you need.fuck him, honestly.he turns you into a vampire and automatically thinks he has the right to carry all of your emotional baggage.”

Oikawa’s astonished face at how much Kyoutani spoke fell at the mention of his best friend.he chokes on a chuckle at the last bit of Kyoutani’s words before the siren sighs.“i take it you’re not going to the funeral tomorrow?”

he received no answer.instead, Oikawa raises his untouched roll towards Kyoutani’s half eaten one.“a toast, to terushima.”

“to Yuuji,” Kyoutani clinks his roll against Oikawa’s.the former rips into his roll with his fangs while oikawa takes a normal bite.the two fall into comfortable silence, grieving in their own ways. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah uh haha Teru go brrr and Kyou cries  
> 🤪

**Author's Note:**

> leave comments if you have questions or just nice words. kudos are always appreciated as well! thanks for reading :>


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